SWFsEUROPE
About SWFsEUROPE
The number and size of sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) has grown substantially in the last decade, leading to an unsettled debate regarding their legitimacy in the global political economy, particularly as many originate from the Global South and from illiberal political economies (e.g. China).
Some suggest they represent the (re)emergence of state-led capitalism subject to geopolitical motivations that threaten free markets. For others, SWFs represent a source of long-term patient capital capable of mitigating market short-termism. Either way, SWFs challenge the norm, particularly in the Global North, that financial markets are spaces of exchange for non-state actors. By analyzing the behavior of SWFs, their interaction with different stakeholders at home and abroad, and how they are legitimized as financial actors in the global political economy, SWFsEUROPE will provide new critical insights into the contemporary relationship between the state and the market.
Recent news
New commentary for openDemocracy
Ilias Alami and Adam Dixon have published a commentary entitled The clash of capitalisms? for openDemocracy as part of its 'Decolonising the Economy' series. The piece is based on a recently published article in the journal Political Geography.
Op-ed on Beijing’s National Security Law for Hong Kong
Imogen Liu has written an op-ed on China's new National Security Law for Hong Kong, published in the The Interpreter at the Lowy Institute. Imogen provides a geoeconomic, geopolitical and state capitalist reading of the new legislation, analysing its broader...
Presentation of Findings to the EC
On 30 June, Imogen Liu and Adam Dixon presented research findings from recent fieldwork to Beijing and Hong Kong on Chinese state capital to more than 70 staff of the European Commission. Dixon and Liu were invited by DG ECFIN, with representatives from several other...
The strange geographies of the ‘new’ state capitalism
Ilias Alami and Adam Dixon have just published a new paper in Political Geography. Highlights The category state capitalism is rapidly becoming a central geopolitical marker. It acts as a powerful tool in hierarchizing the spaces of world politics. It is saturated...
The Specter of State Capitalism
Adam Dixon and Ilias Alami have written an op-ed on COVID-19 and the rise of state capitalism. The piece appears on the Developing Economics blog as a well as LinkedIn.
Anzhalika Yeraminovich speaks at the Higher School of Economics on SWFs
Anzhalika Yeraminovich presented about SWFs innovations in the European Union and Russia on 29 January at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow. Her presentation was hosted by the School of Politics and Governance as part of the seminar series “Modernization of public finances”.
New blog post for Developing Economics
Ilias Alami and Adam Dixon have contributed to first blog post in a new series on state capitalism for the Developing Economics, a blog that provides critical commentary on development economics. See the post here:...
Alami writes blog for Progress in Political Economy on State Capitalism(s)
Originally posted at Progress in Political Economy State Capitalism(s) Redux? By Ilias Alami Recent transformations in the global economy have sparked renewed interest in the role of the state in capital accumulation. Such transformations include a ‘return’ to various...
State Capitalism(s) Redux?
Ilias Alami and Adam Dixon have just published a new paper on state capitalism in Competition & Change. The paper interrogates interrogates the notion of state capitalism, exploring the contributions and limits of the concept as a means of theorizing the more...
Policy paper for the IFSWF
Adam D. Dixon and Imogen T. Liu discuss the future of best practice for sovereign wealth funds as one of three official partners of the 2019 Annual Review of the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds.
Funders and partners
SWFsEUROPE is a five-year research project titled Legitimacy, Financialization, and Varieties of Capitalism: Understanding Sovereign Wealth Funds in Europe. The project is hosted at Maastricht University and a recipient of funding from the European Research Council.