Research

Happy New Academic Year and welcome to the fourth edition of the PEFF Chronicles! In this volume we take a look back at our semester 2 events, including our flagship PEFF research seminars, a series of ‘co-badged’ events (where PEFF partnered with other groups in the university to bring political economy into conversation with new ideas), our PEFF PhD community, and the year’s grand finale: our two-day interdisciplinary conference, the PEFF Symposium 2026. 

But first a brief introduction…

About Us

The Political Economy Futures Forum (PEFF) is an interdisciplinary community of researchers committed to addressing big, enduring questions about the relationship between the economy and society. We share a common research interest in political economy and its potential to build democratic, equitable, and sustainable economies and organisations. As a College of Social Science Interdisciplinary Research Theme, we are a core strategic initiative at the University of Glasgow.  

The PEFF leadership team is comprised of Dr Sean Vanatta (SPS), Dr Maha Rafi Atal (SPS), Dr Franziska Paul (ASBS), Dr Mingzhe Zhu (Law), and Prof Bernhard Reinsberg (SPS). If you are interested to get involved, please reach out or come and speak to us at our upcoming events! As a leadership team we are practicing a horizontal leadership approach but please direct specific queries as follows: 

  • Dr Sean Vanatta: Seminar Lead 
  • Dr Mingzhe Zhu: Seminar Lead 
  • Dr Franziska Paul: Network Lead (external network and events) 
  • Dr Maha Rafi Atal: Impact Lead  
  • Prof Bernhard Reinsberg: ECR Lead (PhD and ECR development) 

PEFF is a College of Social Science funded initiative (2024-2027). For more information about our past events and activities please check out the PEFF Chronicles, volume 1, PEFF Chronicles, volume 2 and PEFF Chronicles, volume 3. 

 

Semester 2 Recap  

1. The PEFF Research Seminar 

Our ‘flagship’ activity, the PEFF Research Seminar series returned for a second year. In semester 2, seminars were held on Wednesdays over lunch (11:30-12:30) in the Advanced Research Centre, featuring speakers from across our interdisciplinary research community: 

 As in previous semesters, session formats were diverse and ranged from full paper presentations with interdisciplinary discussion to more exploratory papers engaging with fresh research findings and new theories, methods, and models. Speakers came from a range of disciplinary backgrounds (urban studies, law, international political economy and development, economics, economic history, and legal theory) and all career stages.  

Seminar topics cut across some of the biggest challenges we face under late-stage capitalism, including austerity (Smith), commodification of land (Vern), financialisation and private capital in global development (Hunter), clientelism (Vaidya), and pension reform (Li), as well as environmental governance (Sun), and transnational justice (Temel). Many thanks to our fantastic semester 2 speakers! 

 We would also like to extend a heartfelt thank you to our seminar discussants: Dr Julia McClure (History), Prof Patrick Bayer (SPS), Dr Anna Chadwick (Law), Dr Patrick Shea (SPS) - and of course to the wider PEFF community for ensuring the seminars are a place for open, inclusive and vibrant interdisciplinary exchange and collegial discussion.  

 

2. PEFF x PSES x Greece 

PEFF was involved in a day-long event titled ‘Political Lessons from Greece: A Case of Unlikely Democratic Resilience’ on 19 January 2026. The event was organised by our sibling interdisciplinary research theme on Peaceful, Secure and Empowered Societies (PSES), with PEFF co-leads and members involved in the day of critical reflections and interdisciplinary exchange. Thanks to Prof Georgios Karyotis and the PSES team for organising the symposium and giving space to discuss Greek politics, crisis, and democracy with special guest, former Greek prime minister George Papandreou.  

PEFF co-sponsored a panel on “Crisis Management and Economic Governance: Greece in Comparative Perspective” chaired by Dr Sean Vanatta and with contributions from co-leads Dr Maha Rafi Atal and Dr Franziska Paul, as well as Prof Panayiotis Tsakloglou (Athens University of Economics and Business) and Prof Platon Tinios (University of Piraeus). 

PEFF co-leads Mingzhe Zhu, Franziska Paul, Bernhard Reinsberg, and Sean Vanatta, with former Greek prime minister George Papandreou and Professors Panayiotis Tsakloglou and Platon Tinios after the PEFF panelImage description: PEFF co-leads Mingzhe Zhu, Franziska Paul, Bernhard Reinsberg, and Sean Vanatta, with former Greek prime minister George Papandreou and Professors Panayiotis Tsakloglou and Platon Tinios after the PEFF panel.

 

3. PEFF x Theatre!

We had a very special evening seminar on 26 February from 4-7pm, which featured a performance by Amanda Douge, writer, actress and PGR student in the School of Critical Studies (College of Arts and Humanities). Amanda presented her literary performance piece and part of her doctoral research, ‘Rosa Luxemburg and I’. The piece deconstructs the anthropogenic self through a Brechtian collage of monologues, satire, poems and prose/poetry to activate radical imagination towards new, revolutionary ways of being. Drawing upon climate sociology, political philosophy and literary theory this funny and moving "thesis in progress" is a porous and flexible combination of performance, research discussion and participatory exercises. In this piece, historical figure and socialist revolutionary Rosa Luxemburg becomes a creative vector to reflect upon earth system damage, the capitalist status quo and eco-socialist potentials. It asks how can our individual "I" find its way to climate revolution and solidarity.

Following Amanda’s fantastic performance, we heard brief commentaries from PEFF co-leads Dr Franziska Paul and Dr Mingzhe Zhu and opened up to a wider discussion, all facilitated by drinks and nibbles. The event was well received and we hope to find space for more evening seminars next year.

 

4. PEFF x Purdue University

In March, PEFF Impact Lead Dr Maha Rafi Atal brought an exciting collaboration to Glasgow: a visiting delegation of 20 staff and students from Purdue University, for activities focused on the politics of international trade. The visit's first day brought Glasgow and Purdue students together in a live simulation of a trade negotiation; the second was devoted to a research workshop, where Glasgow and Purdue colleagues presented current work on trade and economic governance, followed by a workshop dinner that gave the two groups further space for informal exchange.

The visit built on two prior years of online collaboration between the two institutions, making this the first in-person iteration of the partnership and the third consecutive year it has run. For PEFF, the workshop opened up new research contacts between Glasgow and Purdue colleagues, and gave Glasgow's political economy research greater visibility with a strong US peer institution in the field. The visit was jointly funded by Purdue University, the College of Social Sciences, the Division of Politics and International Studies, and PEFF.

The visit was judged a success on both sides, and Purdue colleagues are already seeking institutional funding for a further delegation visit in spring 2027. We see real potential to grow this into an ongoing joint research and teaching partnership between Glasgow and Purdue in the coming years.

 

5. PEFF Symposium 2026

Building on a successful first symposium last year (see: PEFF Chronicles, volume 2), we decided to be even more ambitious this year and organise a two-day conference, which was a resounding success. The 2026 PEFF Symposium was held on 7 and 8 May 2026 and featured two days of interdisciplinary discussion and exchange. This year’s theme was Money, Crisis and Inequality.

Day 1 (7 May) focussed on positioning PEFF’s work and role in a wider context, reflecting on our expanding activities ‘beyond’ Glasgow (such as last semester’s Networking Trip to universities in London and Oxford), and also aimed to think big about what political economy research and teaching means in and for a changing world.

We kicked off with a network panel featuring Portia Roelofs (King's College London), Andrew McLean (University of Edinburgh), and Catherine Schenk (University of Oxford). Our panellists reflected on the importance of political economy in their research and disciplines, their institutions' approaches to political economy and what works where (and what doesn’t), and some forecasting on the role of political economy in addressing key challenges and crises we face.

We were then treated to a guest lecture by leading British economist and director of the Policy Research in Macroeconomics (PRIME) network, Ann Pettifor, who reflected on John Law and the Crisis of Globalised Money. Ann’s contribution was introduced by our new Head of College Graeme Roy (ASBS).

Day 2 (8 May) started off with concurrent panels that featured PEFF research in Glasgow and, in the spirit of interdisciplinary collaboration, were co-sponsored by other research initiatives and networks:

Following lunch, the remainder of the day focussed on policy and policy-embedded research, starting off with a policy keynote by Simon Calvert (FCDO) on Private Finance Mobilisation for the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, which was followed by a panel on policy-embedded research with Melanie Simms (ASBS), Sajjad Hussain (Engineering), and Clementine Hill O'Connor (SPS). Last but not least, we finished the conference with a PEFF PhD session designed around research impact, developed and run by Glasgow PGRs Jamie Barker (SPS), Erin Cutroneo (ASBS), Rory Hamilton (SPS), Mia Clarke (ASBS), Kabir Vaidya (ASBS), Jack Jones (Law), Zhou Zhou (ASBS) and more!

 

Image description: The PEFF leadership team with Ann Pettifor. From left to right: Sean Vanatta, Maha Rafi Atal, Franziska Paul, Ann Pettifor, Mingzhe Zhu, and Bernhard Reinsberg.

Image description: The PEFF leadership team with Ann Pettifor. From left to right: Sean Vanatta, Maha Rafi Atal, Franziska Paul, Ann Pettifor, Mingzhe Zhu, and Bernhard Reinsberg.

 

 6. PEFF x Quantum 

On 5 June 2026, PEFF was involved in the inaugural Quantum × Society Research Sandpit, a day-long interdisciplinary event to explore and seed emerging research at the intersection of quantum technologies, social science, and humanities. The event was initiated by Dr Gemma Milne (ASBS), and co-organised by the Social Studies of Deep Tech (SSoDT) research network, the Quantum ARC, and PEFF.

Skilfully moderated by Gemma Milne, the event brought together a diverse group of quantum founders, science and technology studies experts, and political economists. Participants explored the promises, societal risks, ethics, and access challenges of quantum technology, while debating its position on the traditional tech 'hype cycle'. The high-calibre discussion yielded key open research questions for a dedicated "quantum x society" agenda and fostered promising connections for upcoming internal seed fund bids.

Anyone interested in updates on work at the intersection of Quantum and social sciences should contact Gemma and/or check the Quantum ARC event summary blog. This also includes further details on the £10k seed fund pot, which has just been opened (round 7), with a closing date of 30 October 2026, 5pm. More information here: https://quantum-tech-alliance.co.uk/funding/

 

 7. PEFF PhD community

Over the past year, we have made a conscious effort to feature our diverse PGR students more prominently, e.g. in our seminar line-up (in lightening sessions as well as seminar-length contributions) as well as running a fantastic workshop as part of this year’s Symposium (see above). We love seeing the lively engagement from political economy PhD students from across COSS in discussions at our seminars and other events, and are particularly excited about PGRs self-organising a PEFF PhD network! 

The PEFF PhD network continues to grow in size and meets informally to discuss political economy, interdisciplinarity, and PhD life. If you are a PhD student and would like more information or are interested in joining this friendly group, you can reach out to Erin Cutroneo via < e.cutroneo.1@research.gla.ac.uk >. You can also sign up directly via the web form: PEFF PGR Network Sign Up Form – Fill in form

PEFF PhDs recently made use of the nice summer weather and organised a picnic in Kelvingrove Park to catch up on each other’s projects and, to quote, “pontificate on the social order of birds and squirrels, from a political economy perspective”.

First published: 14 September 2026

<< Events and Updates