Photo Credit: Astrid Duenkelmann, MPIfG
Chase Foster, PhD
My research is in comparative and international political economy, with a focus on competition law and market regulation.
My work concerns the role of the state in capitalist political economies, especially how courts and legal systems structure regulatory paradigms and enforcement, the relationship between the law and the organization of capitalism, and the regulatory roots of contemporary inequality. I am also broadly interested in the politics of economic liberalization and welfare reform.
I am currently a Lecturer in Public Policy & Management at SOAS, University of London. Previously, I held academic positions at the Technical University of Munich, Brown University, and the LSE.
Research Interests
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 from the 19th century until the present. I have published work on courts and competition paradigms, and the politics of policy implementation in the European Union. In working papers, I have explored the politics of globalized enforcement and the interrelationship between competition law and the organization of capitalism..
2. European Politics and Public Policy
I have published articles about the effects of the Euro-crisis on public trust in government and the economic determinants of public support for integration, and the politics of European financial regulatory reform. In a working paper, I examine the relationship between labor market reform and support for European populist parties.
3. The 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 taught a new course on this subject and received a multi-year grant to examine state aid to platform companies.
Publications
"Legalism without Adversarialism: Public and Private Enforcement in the European Union,” Forthcoming in
Regulation & Governance. Publisher's version.
“Varieties of Neoliberalism: Courts, Competition Paradigms and the Atlantic Divide in Antitrust.” 2022. Socio-Economic Review 20(4): 1653-1678. Publisher's version.
“Crisis of Trust: Socio-Economic Determinants of Europeans’ Confidence in Government,” (with Jeffry Frieden). 2017. European Union Politics 18(4): 511-535. Publisher's version.
“Economic Determinants of Public Support for European Integration, 1995-2018” (with Jeffry Frieden). European Union Politics 22(2): 266-292. Publisher's version.
“The Protectionist Politics of Globalized Regulatory Enforcement: Evidence from Cartel Prosecutions Involving Foreign Firms” [Under Review]. Preliminary draft.