Business and Populism

Reviews / Votes

This book is a ground-breaking addition to a proliferating literature, filling an important gap not only on how populism (in particular on the extremes of the right) deals with business but also how business responds in a wide range of cases and countries. The book demonstrates that there are no easy generalizations to be made, but nonetheless develops analytic categories and interaction mechanisms that are essential to getting a grip on the problem. A must-read! * Vivien A. Schmidt, Jean Monnet Professor of European Integration Pardee School of Global Studies, Boston University * The populist tenor of contemporary politics presents a challenge both for organized business and for how social scientists study its strengths and weaknesses. This volume provides an overview of this challenge that is both global and comprehensive. It is sure to be a point of reference for scholarship on this exciting frontier in the study of capitalism and democracy. * Pepper D. Culpepper, University of Oxford * Feldmann, Morgan, and their collaborators have produced a valuable contribution to our understanding of populism and how it affects business. In an area often focused solely on why populism exists, this book takes the exploration of the effects of populism to the next level, defining how businesses around the world deal with the uncertainty that populism creates. A bridge between political science and international business, this volume is sure to become a resource for scholars of populism, political risk, and business alike. * Christopher Hartwell, University Professor, Kozminski University, Warsaw, Poland and Professor of International Business Policy, ZHAW School of Management and Law, Zurich, Switzerland * Feldmann and Morgan's volume offers a rich collection of essays exploring the complex relationship between populism and business. The chapters in Part 1 cover a range of countries in Europe, Asia and the Americas, while Part 2 takes a thematic approach, with chapters on topics such as climate change, business associations and interest representation, and trade. They mobilize Albert Hirschman's framework of exit, voice and loyalty as a way to understand the range of business responses to populism, especially when it threatens business interests. The editors approach populism as a mode of politics in which actors claim to speak for a 'virtuous people' that has been betrayed and exploited by a 'corrupt elite.' This capacious conceptualization enables Business and Populism: The Odd Couple to encompass analyses of political figures, contexts and issue areas that vary in important and consequential ways. * Jennifer Bair, Professor of Sociology, University of Virginia, USA * The literature on the 21st century 'populist turn' has become truly library-filling by now. Yet, surprisingly, the political economy of populism remains vastly understudied. Magnus Feldmann and Glenn Morgan's edited volume makes an important contribution to start covering this gap. The interdisciplinary approach adopted, and the broad range of empirical cases presented allow the reader to gain invaluable insights into the variegated nature of populist economics and the diverse ways in which they affect businesses and how the latter react to them. The book will provide scholars of the political economy of populism with some important answers, much inspiration, and countless avenues for further research. * Gerhard Schnyder, Professor of International Management & Political Economy, Loughborough University London *