Palma Polyak

What struck me immediately in German academia was the near absence of scholars from the former GDR (something I’m attuned to, as an Eastern European). The transition shock feels under-researched, with many stories untold. On this Day of German Unity, let's also remember the work that lies ahead.

“This morning, Germany is one nation again.”

This is how BBC Breakfast News reported on German reunification, 35 years ago today.

Youth Protest in Serbia And some thoughts for America

"Youth Protest in Serbia: And some thoughts for America."
Serbia is a country without the rule of law, and its young people have been taking risks for the better part of a year in the hopes of creating a future where they can live normally in their own country.
snyder.substack.com/p/youth-prot...

Today is publication day!

EXTRACTION: The Frontiers of Green Capitalism is officially out with @wwnorton.com - find it at a bookstore near you or order online💚📚 wwnorton.com/books/978132...

What an inspiring & empowering four days! It was such an honor to meet & exchange with this amazing group of women.

‼️ Read an adapted excerpt from EXTRACTION: The Frontiers of Green Capitalism in @nybooks.com ‼️

Extraction is officially published TOMORROW (9/23) 👀 www.nybooks.com/online/2025/...

🌍 New in @nature.com: The geoeconomic turn in decarbonization, with data from Simon Evenett et al. and @industrialpolicy.bsky.social @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social @natureatcal.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41... 🧵

Applications for our visiting researchers program are now open!

It’s a great opportunity, especially also for ECRs, to spend some time working on your research projects in-depth, with great and welcoming atmosphere and tiny Kölsch beers.

Lmk if you have questions & pls share widely!

If true, we might as well bury the concept of rule of law conditionality. The EU cannot keep letting itself be blackmailed by Orbán into unfreezing funds withheld over rule of law violations in exchange for lifting his veto, unless it truly wants to lose all credibility as a guardian of EU values

⏳Beyond thrilled to co-launch the 2nd Max Planck Summer School for Women in Political Economy next week — with this *incredible* lineup of female talent

🙌 @dustinvoss.bsky.social @mpifg.bsky.social

Why, oh WHY, does "frugal" Germany have so little regard for physical capital?

CITYPERC is organising a workshop on the Economic Project of the Far Right on October 6 at City, University of London. To join us in person or via Teams sign up here www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cityperc-w...

China Green Leap Outward — Net Zero Industrial Policy Lab A new China Low Carbon Technology FDI Database

1/ New report from @bentleyallan.bsky.social's Net Zero Policy Lab: As the US withdraws from green tech industries and pressures allies to follow suit, China is stepping in to power the developing world's energy transition. The scale is staggering.

www.netzeropolicylab.com/china-green-...

How to Flip the Script on the Authoritarian Playbook | Journal of Democracy Aspiring authoritarians share some common tactics for trying to dismantle a democracy. But recent cases also reveal lessons on how to defend against these attacks and slow the threat of democratic…

"Democratic resistance is a long battle that must be fought through many stages and in many arenas. There are no “silver bullets.” Success may at times have to be measured in terms of delays or limits imposed on backsliding ..."

www.journalofdemocracy.org/online-exclu...

Really enjoyed reading this article. This was a particularly useful insight.

Thrilled that my first article is out in @jeppjournal.bsky.social ☺️

It looks at why renewable energy buildout in Europe has been *so* unsteady - tracing the evolution of/conflict over the regime for RE derisking over the last two+ decades...

It's open access! 👉 doi.org/10.1080/1350...

Short 🧵 ...

New Paper out in Development & Change (open access): "Opportunities for Latecomer Technological Catch-up in the Era of Renewables Capitalism" with @lindsaywhitfield.bsky.social
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
@devandchg.bsky.social

2025 State of the Union Address by President von der Leyen President von der Leyen delivered the first State of the Union Address of the 2024-2029 Commission. \n

A few quick impressions from @vonderleyen.ec.europa.eu's State of the Union address: ec.europa.eu/commission/p... /

Brad Setser:

"Big July for China's auto exports: just over 750,000 vehicles, or an annual pace of (gulp), 9m vehicles -- which works out to around 8m passenger cars

Forecasts that China's auto export boom would end in 2025 were premature ..." nitter.net/Brad_Setser/...

Anything in the middle?

Trump Is Trying to Kill Renewables Everywhere The US government is trying to strangle renewables to save fossil fuels. Trump wants other countries to do the same.

Did a pod with the Drilled folks on carbon dominance as what unites US domestic and foreign policy: drilled.media/news/anti-re...

Point taken, but it's important that this was a battery factory (🌮, GOP) and that the Korean EVs are much better than the German ones, like for like.

Ola Källenius, chief executive of Mercedes-Benz, which has plants in the US, said on Monday that he was not concerned about broader impact from the arrests: "You have to respect rules and regulations. We do that and we will continue to invest [in the US]."

German carmaker when Korean carmaker gets raided by secret police: “Not concerned at all. Actually hell yes! Gotta follow the rules!!“
on.ft.com/4gzdDlT

I'm hiring two Post-Doctoral Fellows in International Political Economy/Economic Sociology as part of the ADD project funded by the Velux Foundation. The posts are linked to an AI Sustainability package led by Christina Lioma at KU and me at CBS, drawing insights from comp sci & political economy.

As Trump understands so well, talk is not in fact cheap. Political talk sets expectations and shapes power. Mark Rutte’s and Ursula von der Leyen’s ingratiation with Trump matters, because it means foreign leaders now freely grant him what he has already imposed at home: the acceptance that achieving anything requires not speaking the truth. European leaders have also endorsed Trump’s conception of politics as TV performance. As a result, his tantrums, bullying and craving for ritual subjugation are being normalised on the international stage.

refreshing read by @martinsandbu.ft.com calling out EU leaders in their bullshit

on.ft.com/4fS6IDC

Trump’s Global War on Decarbonization Mark Blyth & Daniel Driscoll conclude that the US is intentionally undercutting the global demand for green technologies.

Check out a new piece by @mkblyth.bsky.social and me: 'Trump’s Global War on Decarbonization'. The Strategy? BLOCK Chinese green tech, PUSH US fossil fuels. @projectsyndicate.bsky.social prosyn.org/RE8I5Ix

China’s dramatic surge of investment into the “new three”—EVs, batteries, and solar—is expected to crush oil demand by 5 million barrels a day by 2030.

Here are the Chinese EVs "going out". BYD has already become a household name. What does this look like in 10 years?
www.ft.com/content/f867...

Solar is EU's biggest power source for first time

Solar booms that no one saw coming --Netherlands and Hungary --- are now over 40% solar, higher than Spain! Installation boomed once policy became supportive few years ago @palmapolyak.bsky.social @janfichtner.bsky.social
www.ft.com/content/0894...

Monopoly Politics: Competition and Learning in the Evolution of Policy Regimes Abstract. Motivated by the contemporary extremes of monopoly power in the United States and globally, this book uses an in-depth comparison of the United S

My book is out today! Read my stuff! academic.oup.com/book/60584?l...
…
The book looks at the long-run evolution of policy around monopoly and competition in the US and France over the 20th century, using extensive archival research to track the main policy actors who changed it at key moments.

Donald Trump picks Heritage economist to head US Bureau of Labor Statistics EJ Antoni is an ally of the president and has criticised the agency for ‘phoney-baloney’ numbers

The White House wants the jobs and inflation guy they pick to assert that the USA is BOOMING, and the interest rates guy they pick to make the case to cut rates hard, and they need a third guy to explain that these two guys can't both be right

on.ft.com/4mH6lyf