Photo Credit: Astrid Duenkelmann, MPIfG
Chase Foster, PhD
My research is in comparative and international political economy, with a focus on the politics of market regulation in Europe and North America.
My interests include the relationship between competition law, capitalism and democracy; the politics of globalized regulatory enforcement; and the political economy of industrial policy.
I am currently a Lecturer in Politics at King's College London.
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 competition law and varieties of capitalism, courts and competition paradigms, bureaucratic discretion and social learning, and the politics of policy implementation in the European Union. I am currently investigating the politics of globalized enforcement and the interrelationship between competition law and the organization of capitalism in the longue durée.
2. European Politics and Public Policy
I have published articles that examine the effects of the Euro-crisis on public trust in government, the economic determinants of public support for integration, the politics of European financial regulatory reform, and the relationship between labor market reform and support for populist parties.
3. The Comparative Politics of Industrial Policy
With a collaborator, I have received an external grant to support the development of a new project on the comparative politics of business investment subsidies.
Publications
"Competition and Varieties of Capitalism in the Long Run: The Evolution of Institutional Complementarity, 1890-2010. 2026. Governance 39: e70128: 1-17. Publisher's version.
"Compensation, Austerity and Populism: Labor Market Spending and Voting in 16 Western European Countries (with Jeff Frieden). 2026. European Union Politics 27(3): 415-443. Publisher's version.
“Coordination Rights, Competition Law and Varieties of Capitalism” (with Kathleen Thelen). 2025. Comparative Political Studies 58(6): 1199-1237. Publisher's version.
Brandeis in Brussels?: Bureaucratic Discretion, Social Learning and the Development of Regulated Competition in the European Union” (with Kathleen Thelen). 2024. Regulation & Governance 18(4): 1083-1103.. Publisher's version.
"Legalism without Adversarialism: Public and Private Enforcement in the European Union,” Regulation & Governance 18: 53-72. 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.
