Stuart Shields

I am interested in critical approaches to International Political Economy.  I completed my PhD on the transnational dimension of regime transformation in Eastern Central Europe at Aberystwyth's world renowned Department of International Politics, in February 2002, and joined Manchester in September that year.  I was founding secretary of the Critical Political Economy Research Network of the European Sociological Association until September 2007, and was the convenor of the BISA International Political Economy working group. I was a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Wroclaw, Poland, the Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, and was a Non-Resident Senior Fellow in the Centre for Global Political Economy, at the Institute of International Relations in Prague. I serve on the editorial board of the journal New Perspectives, on the international advisory board of the Palgrave Studies in the Political Economy of Public Policy book series, and I was an editor for the Lynne Rienner Advances in International Political Economy series.

My book The International Political Economy of Transition, was shortlisted for the 2013 BISA IPEG book prize, and my 2013 article about populism in Poland in Third World Quarterly was nominated for the biennial Aquila Polonica Prize, for the best English-language article published during the previous two years on any aspect of Polish studies.

My main research interests lie in International Political Economy and how the global economy is governed. I am particularly interested in regional development banks and their role in development finance with the intellectual and financial advice they provide to countries.

I continue to maintain an interest in how neoliberalism is configured in post-communist transition, including the variety of responses in Eastern Central Europe especially why resistance has often been populist, right wing and nationalist.

I welcome enquiries that align with these areas or offer innovative interdisciplinary perspectives. 

Current Research Projects:

My current work is focused on two main projects:

• The political economy of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). This project explores the influence and impact of the EBRD in advising post-communist governments, and its more recent activities in Central Asia and the Middle East/North Africa.

• Foundations and Frontiers in International Political Economy This developed from a British Academy/Leverhulme Foundation funded project that explores the construction of International Political Economy as an academic discipline. Alongside the more traditional academic outputs the project is developing a digital talking histories archive that we hope will provide insights into the foundation and early debates in International Political Economy.
  

PhD supervision:
I am particularly interested in supervising PhD students working on regional development banks and also in the broad areas of: International Political Economy, Eastern Europe, neoliberalism, and global governance.

My Approach to Supervision
I view PhD supervision as a collaborative partnership rather than a top-down hierarchy. My goal is to support the development of researchers in navigating not just their specific thesis topic, but the broader "hidden curriculum" of academia.

I have a proven track record of supervising a diverse cohort of PhD students across various races, genders, nationalities, and abilities, recognising that the transition to PhD research often involves navigating institutional barriers that aren't always visible.

What to Expect
I prefer an informal approach to start. If you are in the Manchester area, I often suggest meeting for a coffee to discuss your ideas. For those further afield, we use Teams or Zoom to keep the conversation low-pressure and focused on your research potential rather than interview performance.
Proposal Development:
I am happy to work with promising candidates on their research proposals before formal submission. This iterative feedback process helps us both determine if we are the right "fit" for a three-to-four-year PhD journey.

I'm particularly interested in PhDs that explore regional development banks, as well as the relationship between neoliberalism and populism.

If you'd like to discuss research proposals please get in touch by email. 

Current PhD students:

• Matthew Male The US, China, and the COVID-19 Pandemic: the Geopolitics of Health Infrastructure
• Nicolle Loughlan Authoritarian Infrastructural Power: China, Saudi Arabia, and the Rise of Post-Neoliberal Diplomacy
• Jinxuan Wu China's engagement in global health governance during the 21st century
• Feiyang Xu Alibaba’s Ecosystem in South-East Asia: Chinese Capitalism in the World System.

Completed PhD students: 

• Dr Julija Loginovic (2024) Individualisation Discourse in Global Neoliberal Governance and its Role in Subjectivity Production: the Case of the World Development Report (ESRC1+3).
• Dr Konstantinos Kanellopoulos (2022) Why does Greece fail? A comparative analysis of the economic crises of the 1930s and the 2010s.

• Dr Franco Galdini (2021) The Post-Soviet Space and Uzbekistan in the International Division of Labour: From Transition to Capital Accumulation (Manchester School of Social Science funded). Winner of the 2022 British International Studies Association’s Prize for Best PhD in International Studies.
  
• Dr. Muhammad Rakhmat (2018) Examining the implications of the Belt Road Initiative and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (Indonesian Department of Education funded).  Muhammad is a Lecturer in International Politics at the University of Indonesia.
• Dr Esra Nartok (2019) The relationship between religion and politics under neoliberalism in India and Turkey - a Gramscian perspective (Turkish Ministry of Education funded). Esra is a Lecturer at Karadeniz Technical University, Turkey.
• Dr. Ilias Alami (2018) Post-crisis capital account policies in emerging capitalisms: regaining policy space? A comparison between Brazil and South Africa (Manchester President’s Doctoral Scholarship). Ilias is Lecturer in International Development at University of Cambridge.
• Dr. Fadil Ersozer (2017) The limits of Europeanisation and liberal peace in Cyprus. Fadil is teaching at the University of Manchester.
• Dr Jon las Heras (2017) Room for Manoeuvre? Variegated Trade Union Strategies in the Spanish Automotive Industry (Manchester School of Social Science funded).  Jon is Lecturer in Industrial Economics, at the University of the Basque Country.
• Dr. Jackie Gomez-Mendez (2015) Argentina’s post democratic transition labour market reforms (University of Guadalajara, and Mexican Government funding).  Jackie teaches at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile.
• Dr Tomas Maltby (2014) The influence of new member states on EU foreign policy in the sphere of energy security (ESRC +3). Tom is currently Reader in International Politics at King’s College, London.
• Dr. Simon Orth (2012) Promoting Normative Power Europe: A Critical Assessment of the European Union’s Externalisation of Justice and Home Affairs (Manchester School of Social Science funding). Simon teaches history at Manchester Grammar School.
  
• Dr. Bilge Azgin (2012) Democratic transition and consolidation in Contemporary Turkey (Turkish Ministry of Education funded). Bilge is an Associate Professor at Near East University, Nicosia.
• Dr George Kyris (2011) Europeanisation, EU Enlargement and the Future of the Turkish-Cypriot Community’. George is Lecturer in European and International Politics at University of Birmingham.
• Dr Khaulath Mohammed (2009) Globalization and democratization:  the case of the Maldives. Dr Mohammed died in 2012.
• Dr Huw Macartney (2008) The Single Securities Market: A Transnational Financial Elite Project (ESRC 1+3). Huw is Senior Lecturer in Political Economy at the University of Birmingham.
• Dr Denis Murphy (2007) Between the State and the International: A Critical Realist analysis of US Decline.

Teaching:

In recent years my teaching has focused on the following areas

Undergraduate:

• POLI10502 The Politics of the Global Economy
  
• POLI30721 International Political Economy

Postgraduate:

• POLI70311 Critical Approaches to International Political Economy