As financial markets and central banks oversee an increasingly fraught global economy marked by inflationary pressures, looming recessions, and higher interest rates, critiques of the contemporary financial architecture have begun to emerge from both the Left and the Right. What may have once been seen as a purely technocratic endeavor has now spilled out onto the political frontlines. What is the current state of contemporary finance and what are some of the possible alternatives? What are the different class interests underlying emergent responses to financial instability and how may political movements articulate their visions for alternative financial systems?

Following the 2008 Financial Crisis, finance has become a target for political activists and social movements, as well as a topic of renewed scholarly interest. Yet, the state of contemporary finance remains somewhat opaque, leaving many wondering whether much has actually changed. This panel will discuss recent trends in the realm of finance, detailing new patterns of ownership and control that have gone relatively unnoticed - but which have important ramifications for the global capitalist economy.

After years of austerity and deflationary pressures, the fear of inflation has once again reared its head. The year 2021 recorded the largest increase in the Consumer Price Index since 1981 . According to some economists, this is the first generational experience of inflation for Americans born after 1980. Debates have ensued regarding the causes of inflation, ranging from supply bottlenecks to rising labor costs. Such debates have subsequently informed policy, with some arguing for increasing interest rates while others call for increased investments in essential sectors and strategic price controls. This panel will discuss and contextualize current debates over the causes for, and policy responses to, inflation.

The Russian decision to invade Ukraine was seen as an inevitability to some observers, but a surprise to many others. While the precise motivations are still subject to much debate, the current situation is highly dynamic and the future of the war remains uncertain, albeit consequential. This panel will examine the underlying political economy of both Russia and the region to better understand the reasons for war and its ramifications for the region and the wider world economy.

The commodities boom of the 2000s saw the prices of oil, rubber, tin, lead, copper and other industrial minerals rise steadily. This model of economic growth helped support leftist pink-tide governments in Latin America as well as governments all over Southeast Asia. However, with the slowdown in Chinese economic growth and the drop in commodity prices in 2014, the model began to unravel. This coincided with popular challenges to reigning governments, from Malaysia to Brazil. In some cases, protests and social movements were met with increasing repression and a relinquishing of previous democratic gains. What do changing global and regional political economies tell us about resurgent authoritarianism in these two seemingly unconnected regions?

India - the world’s largest democracy - has witnessed significant democratic backsliding over the past decade, especially following the victory of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2014. Some of the core pillars of the republic, such as secularism, are being challenged at both the state and civil society level, while the BJP continues to compromise important state institutions such as the Election Commission. What can an analysis of India’s rapidly changing political economy, its developmental history, and its relationship with the global economy tell us about the current predicament of increasing authoritarianism?