New Directions in Critical Comparative Capitalisms Research ― Critical and Global Perspectives

For at least a decade, scholarship on capitalist diversity was inextricably associated with the emblematic 'Varieties of Capitalism' perspective. However, the subsequent debate has exposed the manifold flaws of this approach, flaws that the global economic crisis after 2008 has made ever more obvious. Comparative political economists are therefore searching for new directions in Comparative Capitalisms research in order to come to terms with the multi-faceted reality of contemporary capitalism. While some do so through a renewal of institutionalist theory, others seek to (re-)introduce critical – including neo-Marxist, feminist and post/decolonial – perspectives. This collection presents the first sustained dialogue between these post-VoC and critical approaches, one that engages both long-standing protagonists in debates on capitalist diversity and a younger generation of scholars, from Europe and the Americas. Its main objective is that of contributing to the development of a new generation of Comparative Capitalisms scholarship.

Matthias Ebenau is Union Lecturer in Business and Political Economy, working for Germany's metal workers' union IG Metall. He has studied, taught and researched at universities in Germany, the UK and Argentina and has published widely on topics related to capitalist diversity.

Ian Bruff is Lecturer in European Politics at the University of Manchester, UK. He has published widely on European varieties of capitalism, neoliberalism, and social (especially historical materialist) theory. He is currently researching the political economy of neoliberalism in Europe.

Christian May is Research Fellow in International Political Economy at Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, Germany. His current research focuses on theories of comparative capitalisms and the diversity of capitalism in the Global South.