Institute for International Political Economy Berlin (IPE Berlin)

In 2008, the IPE Berlin was founded at the Berlin School of Economics to address and analyse the connections in a globalised world between the economy and the political sphere, industry and the state, and markets and political power. The Institute works within an international network and together with macro-economists, political scientists and sociologists to further develop political and economic categories.

The IPE Berlin's work is focused on the field of tension between economic globalisation and international and global regulative policy. The contradictions between market and policy have grown significantly, as is evidenced by the recurrence of severe financial crises, growing social inequality, high rates of unemployment, disregard for standards of human rights, and the foreseeable global environmental impact of non-future sustainable energy policies. Hence, the energy chain with its economic and policy regulations needs to be analysed if the modern tendencies, contradictions, crises, and globalisation conflicts are to be understood. In brief, the international political economy needs to be supplemented by an international political ecology.

The IPE Berlin's core areas of interest are: the role of the financial markets in global capitalism; Europe and its new role in the world economy; alternative development strategies.

The IPE Berlin organises meetings and congresses on these areas to debate the analyses of subjects related to its core concerns. Here, the Institute utilizes the contacts of members established via their work in European and other international research networks. In addition, the Institute provides consulting services in the policy fields related to its key research areas. The partners and addressees of these consulting services are unions and other social movements, government and public sector institutions, and companies.

The aim is to ensure that students interested in social science research can assist in individual research projects or can be integrated via tutored theses, especially on Master programmes, into the Institute's work.