Disruptive Democracy

Dr. Peter Bloom is a Senior Lecturer and Head of the Department of People and Organisations at the Open University, Co-Founder of the research group REEF (Research into Employment, Empowerment, and Futures), and Chair of REF preparation for Business and Management. His books include Authoritarian Capitalism in the Age of Globalization (Edward Elgar Press), Beyond Power and Resistance: Politics at the Radical Limits (Rowman and Littlefield International, November 2016), The Ethics of Neoliberalism: The Business of Making Capitalism Moral (Routledge, 2017), The Bad Faith in the Free Market: The Radical Promise of Existential Freedom (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018), and The CEO Society: How the Cult of Corporate Leadership Transform Our World co-written Carl Rhodes (Zed Books). His scholarly work has also been published in leading international journals such as Human Relations, Organization, Theory and Event, Journal of Political Ideologies, Journal of Political Power, New Formations, Research on the Sociology of Organization, Culture and Organizations, Ephemera, Journal of Organizational Change Management, Organization and International Journal of Zizek Studies. His writing has been additionally featured in top international and national media outlets such as The Washington Post, The Guardian, and The Independent, The New Statesmen, The Week, The Conversation and Open Democracy among others. Recently, he has served as the lead academic on a range of BBC programmes including "The Bottom Line" on Radio 4, the "Can Britain Have a Payraise" aired on BBC2 and most recently the two part television documentary "The Secrets of Silicon Valley". Dr. Alessandro Sancino (PhD) is a Senior Lecturer in Management at the Department of Public Leadership & Social Enterprise, where he brings extensive academic experience from posts held in Italy, Switzerland, Peru' and the UK. Alessandro is a truly international scholar and he has published in top journals in the fields of public administration and regional studies with co-authors from about 20 different Countries. He is a member of the Executive Board of PUPOL (Public and Political Leadership Network) and of the Regional Studies Association Publications Committee. His research has been funded by several institutions, such as The College of Policing in UK, the UK Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, the Netherland Institute of Government, the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR). Before coming to the UK, Dr. Sancino held top political leadership positions in Italy, nationally during the Monti Government and locally, including leader of the Council in his home town (the youngest in Italy at the time of his election, 2007) and councillor for the Milan metropolitan area.