Sidney Rothstein

A square image showing the cover of a book called "the story of CO2 is the story of everything" by Peter Brannen, advertising a talk on March 4th at Williams College from 7-8:30 PM in Bronfman auditorium. Open to the public.

Talk alert! Weds, March 4th - @peterbrannen.bsky.social in conversation with me and @sidneyrothstein.bsky.social at Williams College! CO2, geology, AND capitalism. 7:00pm in Wachenheim Room B11, open to the public, books for sale & signing (& cookies) to follow: events.williams.edu/event/the-st...

image of williams college nestled in the lush green hills of berkshire county

🚨We're hiring! 🚨

Williams College Department of Political Science is looking for a one-year visiting assistant professor of political science in comparative politics.

(Preferred regional focus: Africa and/or South Asia)

apply.interfolio.com/181758
Closes Feb 23, 2026

Few books have made such an impact on my thinking recently as Brannen's "The Story of CO2." Can't wait to discuss with @peterbrannen.bsky.social on March 4th.

Come by if you're in Western Mass, and if you're not, go get yourself this book!

Fantastic opportunity for PhD students working in the fields of political economy and economic sociology to receive valuable feedback and connect to other researchers in their field.

Organized by the wonderful PhD students of the @mpifg.bsky.social

Send them your abstracts!

A must read paper on how Big Tech uses start-ups from Spain and Brazil to advance their political interests

👇👇👇

Thanks! Your work was a big help!

@the-syllabus.bsky.social
@davey.bsky.social

And if you’re interested in dependent development, you’ll love the recent special issue published by @compchange.bsky.social (and guest edited by @aritassinari.bsky.social, @fbulfone.bsky.social, and Aldo Madariaga)

doi.org/10.1177/1024...

13/n

Speaking of other research, the article builds directly on existing research on Big Tech’s power and political influence. See especially:

@lobbycontrol.bsky.social
@corporateeurope.org
@somoamsterdam.bsky.social
@margaridasilva.bsky.social
@maxheermann.bsky.social
@maximilianiras.bsky.social

(In ongoing research, I am exploring the character of this dependence – what exactly do the *economic* aspects of dependent development look like in digital capitalism?)

11/n

But given startups’ economic/technological dependence on Big Tech, it seems unlikely they would ever propose policies that would threaten Big Tech – because doing so would also threaten their own interests.

10/n

"But Joe McNamee, director of European Digital Rights (EDRi), a group that promotes tighter privacy rules, disputes that they have been able to muster the same firepower as US tech groups. Mr. McNamee occupies a unique position. EDRi used to be supported by Google when it campaigned for net neutrality. But when his group started lobbying on tougher privacy rights, it lost Google's financial backing."

… because Big Tech can revoke support whenever their “clients” even think about threatening Big Tech’s interests.

(See the case of the EDRi)
www.ft.com/content/7427...

9/n

(3) given that startups’ political advocacy depends on Big Tech’s resources, it is extremely unlikely that startups will promote policies that reduce dependence on Big Tech…

8/n

(2) reviving analysis of the *political* character of dependency,

this isn’t just about economic relationships or access to certain technologies. Instead, in many contexts, startups’ ability to even constitute a political actor depends on Big Tech’s largesse – which leads to the 3rd upshot 👇

7/n

There are 3 important upshots for dependent development and the politics of digital capitalism

(1) echoing research by @ceciliarikap.bsky.social and others, digital capitalism implies a broader periphery than in past eras – one that includes countries in the historical periphery, like Spain.

6/n

GIF of the godfather saying, "I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse."

In short, the Big Tech/startup relationship resembles the asymmetric reciprocity characterizing that between patron and client

5/n

Two detailed case studies (Brazil and Spain) show how Big Tech sponsors startup associations, giving them the resources to lobby national policymakers.

I diagnose the Big Tech/startup relationship as patron/client, since the relationship is:
- Dyadic
- Iterative
- Contingent
- Hierarchical

4/n

Where do startup policies come from?

Probably not from startups.

Most can hardly afford to keep the lights on, so how do they afford to lobby for changing national policy?

Answer: Big Tech’s money

3/n

List of countries and their recent startup laws 1/2

List of countries and their recent startup laws 2/2

Have you noticed the recent wave of startup policies?

See: Argentina, Bahrain, Brazil, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, India, Malaysia, Mexico, the Philippines, Thailand... also in the historical core: Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain – and more!

2/n

first page of "Dependent development in digital capitalism: The politics of startup policies in the new periphery." abstract: As digital technology’s economic importance increases, policymakers pivot to supporting startups – new, small, high-risk firms that produce technological innovation. Tracing the passage of startup policies in Brazil and Spain between 2014 – 2022, this article argues that startup policies do little to reduce peripheral countries’ dependence on the core. In each case, startups advocated for these policies by relying on financial and organizational resources from the giant US-based technology firms known as “Big Tech.” The article makes three contributions to the framework of dependent development. First, it reinforces existing observations that dependence on Big Tech extends beyond the Global South. Second, it revives political analysis of dependency, exploring the political conditions for economic development in the periphery. Lastly, it shows how startups’ political dependence on Big Tech implies important limits on startups’ ability to lead peripheral economies out of dependence on the core.

Out now in Competition & Change
@compchange.bsky.social

“Dependent development in digital
capitalism: The politics of startup
policies in the new periphery”

@journals.sagepub.com
#polisky
journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1...

1/n

Workers Governing Technologies: Collective Strategies Across Contexts. In-person workshop in Toronto on Sep 25 and 26 with 20 speakers from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Spain and US

Registration link and full schedule: www.eventbrite.ca/e/workers-go...

Find a correlation with something, publish a political science paper

Drawings of a few things cooler than AI such as owls, clouds, Stars, dreams, birds, snails, a child's drawing, peanut butter and jelly a hug, the ocean and a cool rock

A few things cooler than AI by Andy J. Pizza

"UC Berkeley’s Labor Center launches a new data tool, an inventory of union contracts, to empower labor in negotiating AI and emerging technologies. It provides crucial insights for unions to secure worker protections and shape the future of work." lngfrm.net/uc-berkeley-...

The UK gov or the car?

We are delighted that our Special Issue on "The Politics of Growth, Stagnation and Upgrading in Peripheral Economies" coedited w/ @fbulfone.bsky.social & Aldo Madariaga is now out in Competition & Change @compchange.bsky.social, Vol. 29(3–4).
🔗 doi.org/10.1177/1024...

I am!

Congratulations, Ben! Looking forward to the work from this

Wealth Expands After Higher State Taxes on High-Income Earners - Institute for Policy Studies Wealth Expands After Higher State Taxes on High-Income Earners

Good week to re-up this report by @ocampomar.bsky.social and @ips-dc.org:

Following Massachusetts' Fair Share Amendment (tax on millionaires), did the millionaires leave en masse as they had threatened? No, the millionaires stayed -- and tax revenue increased!

ips-dc.org/report-wealt...

🚨 Big News for European Political Science 🚨

We’re thrilled to announce the launch of the European Political Science Society (EPSS): a new, member-led, not-for-profit association built to support our scholarly community.

🔗 epssnet.org

Here’s a thread with everything you need to know.

🧵