Karl Polanyi and critical IPE: great transformations, the state and the importance of controlling the ‘rate of change’

Ilirjan Shehu and Randall Germain

Review of International Political Economy, 2025, vol. 32, issue 5, 1696-1711

Abstract: The work of Karl Polanyi has figured prominently over the past two decades in critical international political economy (IPE) scholarship that attempts to understand the changing foundations of the world economy. Especially important have been the concepts of ‘embedded’ versus ‘disembedded’ economies and the double movement, which were embraced by John Ruggie in his pathbreaking effort to harness Polanyi to better understand changes in the Bretton Woods era during the 1980s. Most IPE scholarship follows Ruggie’s use of Polanyi, which we argue does not fully exploit the depth and scale of his usefulness. We extend the applicability of Polanyi’s ideas for IPE by considering two under-appreciated facets of his thought: his focus on the state as the most critical site of contestation through which world market is established and organised, and his concern for controlling the speed by which change unfolds in society, or what he called the ‘rate of change’. Both facets are underpinned by Polanyi’s deeply historical account of global change and transformation. Including these into our use of Polanyi extends the utility of his ideas to better understand contemporary developments such as technological change and the resurgence of nationalism and populism, which are the well-springs of the next great transformation.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1080/09692290.2025.2469708

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