Chase Foster, PhD

My research is in comparative and international political economy, with a focus on market regulation and technology policy.

My work concerns the role of the state in capitalist political economies, especially how courts and legal systems structure regulatory paradigms and enforcement, how regulatory regimes interact with state economic development strategies, and the regulatory roots of contemporary inequality. I am also broadly interested in the politics of economic liberalization and welfare reform. 

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I am currently a senior research fellow and lecturer at the Chair for International Relations at the TUM School of Social Sciences & Technology in Munich.

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My research falls into three main areas: 

1. The Political Economy of Competition Law

I am writing a book that examines the causes and consequences of The Atlantic Divide in Antitrust.  I have written an article on courts and competition paradigms and a working paper on the politics of globalized enforcement. In collaborative projects, I am currently examining the global diffusion of competition law and competition law in coordinated market economies.  

2. European Politics and Public Policy

I have published articles about the effects of the Euro-crisis on public trust in government, the economic determinants of public support for integration, and the politics of European financial regulatory reform. I am currently exploring the politics of policy implementation in the European Union and the relationship between welfare retrenchment and support for European populist parties.

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3. Politics of Regulating the Platform Economy

I am currently developing a new project that examines the politics of regulating the ‘platform economy’, or the digital marketplaces owned and operated by companies such as Google, Facebook, Apple, and Amazon. I have developed a new course on this subject and received a multi-year grant to examine state aid to platform companies.

“Economic Determinants of Public Support for European Integration, 1995-2018” (with Jeffry Frieden). European Union Politics 22(2): 266-292. Publisher's version.

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“Legalism without Adversarialism: Public and Private Enforcement in the European Union” [R&R at

Regulation & Governance]. Working paper.

“The Protectionist Politics of Globalized Regulatory Enforcement: Evidence from Cartel Prosecutions Involving Foreign Firms” [Under Review]. Preliminary draft.