© Stephanie Hofschlaeger / pixelio.de

Business (Power)

(Business)Power

As far as the question of political power is concerned, the focus of interest is mainly on the particularly pronounced amalgamation of economic and political power in democracy today. Also, the team of the Chair of International Relations and Sustainable Development investigates actors and structures of the global financial system in this thematic area. Research focuses on these phenomena at various levels, from local initiatives to international processes. The team of the Chair of International Relations and Sustainable Development develops conceptual approaches to better understand power issues. A particular focus is on forms of structural, especially non-material structural (discursive) power and the relationship between the regulation of companies and the sources on which companies exercise power. At the same time, empirical analyses of the paths and consequences of this power are also analyzed, particularly in the area of sustainable consumption and in the political field of business and human rights. In addition, the impact of financialization on sustainability, for example, of the global agrifood system and, in particular, food security, will be analyzed. Additionally, questions of legitimacy, effectiveness, and democracy are addressed from a conceptual and empirical perspective. There are close links from this research field to all topics dealt with at the chair, especially sustainable consumption, energy policy and climate policy.

Selected publications on this topic

  • Fuchs, Doris; Gumbert, Tobias (2019) Power without Borders? Transnational Corporations in the Global Food System. In: Middell Matthias (Ed.): The Routledge Handbook of Transnational Studies. Routledge, p. 267-274.
  • Gumbert, Tobias; Fuchs, Doris (2018) The Power of Corporations in Global Food Sector Governance. In: Nölke, Andreas; May, Christian (Eds.): Handbook of the International Political Economy of the Corporation. Cheltenham, UK / Northampton, US: Edward Elgar, p. 435-447. doi: 10.4337/9781785362538.00036.
  • Fuchs, Doris; Hennings, Anne (2017) Governance by Contract from a Perspective of Power. In: Cutler, Claire A.; Dietz, Thomas (Eds.): The Politics of Private Transnational Governance by Contract. London: Routledge, p. 57-75.
  • Fuchs, Doris; Gumbert, Tobias; Schlipphak, Bernd (2017) Euroscepticism and Big Business. In: Leruth, Benjamin; Startin, Nicholas; Usherwood, Simon (Eds.): The Routledge Handbook of Euroscepticism., p. 317-330.
  • Fuchs, D; Di Giulio, A.; Glaab, K.; Lorek, S.; Maniates, M.; Princen, T. (2015). "Power: The Missing Element in Sustainable Consumption and Absolute Reductions Research and Action". Journal of Cleaner Production. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.02.00 .
  • Fuchs, D. (2013). „Theorizing the Power of Global Companies“. In Mikler, John (Ed.). Handbook of Global Companies. Hoboken: Wiley-Blackwell, 77-95.
  • Fuchs, D.; Meyer-Eppler, R.; Hamenstädt, U. (2013). „Food for Thought: The Politics of Financialization in the Global Agrifood System”. Competition & Change 17 (3): 219-233.