Hubert Buch-Hansen

Presentation

I am a political economist with wide-ranging research and teaching interests. Overall, I am interested in how the political economies of the Western world developed, in the functioning of the contemporary global capitalist system, and in the economic, social and environmental consequences thereof. Most of my research revolves around issues related to competition. My PhD thesis from 2008 and a 2011 book titled The Politics of European Competition Regulation (co-authored by Angela Wigger), both analyse the historical transformation of capitalism and competition regulation in Europe from the vantage point of a critical political economy perspective underpinned by critical realism. Currently I study the evolution of business networks and their impact on competition. More specifically, I conduct longitudinal analyses of cartels and interlocking directorates by means of social network analysis methods. Finally, by cross-fertilising insights from political economy and degrowth/steady-state economics I explore what transitions to genuinely environmentally sustainable societies entail, and what the main obstacles to and opportunities for such transitions are.

Primary research areas

• Competition
• Cartels
• Political economy
• Competition regulation in the EU
• Environmental sustainability

Courses

• Comparative political economy (IBP, 2nd year, mandatory)
• Philosophies of Social Science and Applied Qualitative Methods (IBP, 2nd year, mandatory)

Supervision

I mainly supervise IBP projects/theses that deal with issues related to European political economy.