Dr Joseph Baines
Senior Lecturer in International Political Economy
- Affiliate of the Lau China Institute
Research interests
- Economics
- Politics
Biography
Joseph Baines is a Senior Lecturer in International Political Economy at King’s College London. Before his appointment at King’s in 2016, he was a Fellow in Comparative Politics at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). Joseph undertook his PhD at York University, Toronto, where he explored the distributional consequences of food crisis and the restructuring of global value chains. Prior to his doctoral research, Joseph completed a Masters in Global Political Economy at the University of Sussex (2007-08), and an undergraduate degree in politics and international studies at the University of Warwick (2004-07).
Research
The underlying research question that animates much of Joseph’s research is ‘who benefits?’ Who, in other words, gains from either stasis or transformation in the global political economy? And what if anything are these actors doing to either obstruct or facilitate change? This approach has led him to embark on research that covers five core themes:
- Corporate power and ecological crisis
- The political economy of food and energy
- The transformation of global value chains
- Sino-US tech rivalry and weaponised interdependence
- The capital as power framework
Teaching
Joseph's teaching has covered a wide range of subjects within the field of international political economy. His current teaching portfolio reflects his research interests in the political economy of energy, climate change and multinational corporations.
Multinational Corporations and Global Supply Chains
International Political Economy of Energy Markets
PhD supervisions
Joseph welcomes applications for PhD topics related to any of his research interests.
Expertise and public engagement
Joseph has authored articles in Le Monde, The Guardian, Tribune and The Conversation. He has contributed research to the Common Wealth think tank, which has subsequently been covered in The Observer, The Guardian and The Mirror. His work has also been extensively discussed in Bloomberg News and referenced in The Financial Times.
Research
The International Political Economy Research Group
International Political Economy research group focuses on the examination of contemporary socioeconomic and political dynamics of crisis and limitations of European and global order.
London Political Economy Network
The London Political Economy Network aims to foster cross-university exchange and networking between London-based political economy research centres
Global Capitalism, Power & Uneven Development research group
We study the many ways in which the world-system unevenly constrains and drives development everywhere, with its persistent structural hierarchies, dependencies, contradictions, and unequal power relations between classes, ethnicities, genders, races, and states.
News
Reliance on superpowers leaves key UK industry exposed to trade war
The UK’s multibillion-pound semiconductor industry risks being entangled in an escalating global trade war between China and the United States.
Conference celebrates pioneering work of Susan Strange
The legacy and pioneering work of scholar Susan Strange was celebrated at a special conference held this summer.
Some firms resisting pressure to take sides in 'chip war'
New research has revealed why German firms are refusing to join the United States’ tech trade war with China over semiconductor chips, a key component in...
Project team contribute to parliamentary report on crucial technology sector
Members of a research project which focusses on the changing dynamics of global supply chains contributed to a major new report on the semiconductor industry...
Environment 'taking a backseat' as asset managers prioritise shareholder value
The world’s largest asset management companies are “firmly-orientated” towards securing short-term shareholder returns rather than backing the urgent changes...
Call for greater scrutiny of UK's 'broken' energy distribution system
A new report has called for an urgent overhaul of the gas and electricity distribution network to address the “extractive business models” of companies making...
Activists must be 'multifaceted and relentless' in bid to clean-up commodity trade
A new wave of shareholder activism that is aiming to curb the ecological harms caused by multinational corporations like ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell is...
Global tax inequality 'contributed to conditions that saw rapid spread of coronavirus'
A persistent disparity in the taxes paid by large and small firms has fuelled inequality and contributed to conditions through which coronavirus has been able...
Events
International Political Economy in an era of Hegemonic Competition
Part of the thirtieth anniversary series for the Department of European and International Studies at King's College London
Please note: this event has passed.
Global Breakdown in the wake of COVID-19? A shared politics of human and environmental crises
The London Political Economy Network (LPEN) is co-hosting a workshop examining the human and environmental crises of the post-COVID world.
Please note: this event has passed.
Politics in Times of COVID-19 – Responding to Radical Uncertainty
The first installment in the 2020/21 EIS seminar series puts the global pandemic in the spotlight
Please note: this event has passed.
Research
The International Political Economy Research Group
International Political Economy research group focuses on the examination of contemporary socioeconomic and political dynamics of crisis and limitations of European and global order.
London Political Economy Network
The London Political Economy Network aims to foster cross-university exchange and networking between London-based political economy research centres
Global Capitalism, Power & Uneven Development research group
We study the many ways in which the world-system unevenly constrains and drives development everywhere, with its persistent structural hierarchies, dependencies, contradictions, and unequal power relations between classes, ethnicities, genders, races, and states.
News
Reliance on superpowers leaves key UK industry exposed to trade war
The UK’s multibillion-pound semiconductor industry risks being entangled in an escalating global trade war between China and the United States.
Conference celebrates pioneering work of Susan Strange
The legacy and pioneering work of scholar Susan Strange was celebrated at a special conference held this summer.
Some firms resisting pressure to take sides in 'chip war'
New research has revealed why German firms are refusing to join the United States’ tech trade war with China over semiconductor chips, a key component in...
Project team contribute to parliamentary report on crucial technology sector
Members of a research project which focusses on the changing dynamics of global supply chains contributed to a major new report on the semiconductor industry...
Environment 'taking a backseat' as asset managers prioritise shareholder value
The world’s largest asset management companies are “firmly-orientated” towards securing short-term shareholder returns rather than backing the urgent changes...
Call for greater scrutiny of UK's 'broken' energy distribution system
A new report has called for an urgent overhaul of the gas and electricity distribution network to address the “extractive business models” of companies making...
Activists must be 'multifaceted and relentless' in bid to clean-up commodity trade
A new wave of shareholder activism that is aiming to curb the ecological harms caused by multinational corporations like ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell is...
Global tax inequality 'contributed to conditions that saw rapid spread of coronavirus'
A persistent disparity in the taxes paid by large and small firms has fuelled inequality and contributed to conditions through which coronavirus has been able...
Events
International Political Economy in an era of Hegemonic Competition
Part of the thirtieth anniversary series for the Department of European and International Studies at King's College London
Please note: this event has passed.
Global Breakdown in the wake of COVID-19? A shared politics of human and environmental crises
The London Political Economy Network (LPEN) is co-hosting a workshop examining the human and environmental crises of the post-COVID world.
Please note: this event has passed.
Politics in Times of COVID-19 – Responding to Radical Uncertainty
The first installment in the 2020/21 EIS seminar series puts the global pandemic in the spotlight
Please note: this event has passed.