Palma Polyak
@palmapolyak.bsky.social
Senior Researcher @ Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies, Cologne | IPE & Geoeconomics | Trade imbalances 🚢 & EV battery value chains 🔋
https://palmapolyak.weebly.com/research.html
https://palmapolyak.weebly.com/research.html
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Palma Polyak
@palmapolyak.bsky.social
· Apr 5
I've been browsing the 'Posts' tab of this pack quite a bit lately — it might come in handy. It's by no means exhaustive, but as a bonus: it's gender balanced.
go.bsky.app/S87TfHv
go.bsky.app/S87TfHv
Reposted by Palma Polyak
Thanks @erinkaylockwood.bsky.social for including my book in this wonderful list! And I totally share the motivation and spirit
This year I made two big changes to my graduate International Political Economy syllabus: 1) I leaned in to money and capital as organizing themes, and 2) I assigned (nearly) all books. Here's our reading list, ft. Karl Polanyi, Benjamin Cohen, @stefeich.bsky.social, Ngaire Woods, J.C. Sharman ...
February 6, 2026 at 7:22 AM
Thanks @erinkaylockwood.bsky.social for including my book in this wonderful list! And I totally share the motivation and spirit
Reposted by Palma Polyak
Looking forward to discussing Franziska Cooiman’s paper next week 👇
Don’t miss next week’s session in our online series on Comparative Political Economy (MAX CPE):
@franziscool.bsky.social on “Asset Politics: The Making of a Green Venture Capital Fund”.
📅 February 11, 1–2pm CET
📍 online
📧 Sign up: maxcpe@mpifg.de
@humboldtuni.bsky.social
s.gwdg.de/zG70h8
@franziscool.bsky.social on “Asset Politics: The Making of a Green Venture Capital Fund”.
📅 February 11, 1–2pm CET
📍 online
📧 Sign up: maxcpe@mpifg.de
@humboldtuni.bsky.social
s.gwdg.de/zG70h8
February 6, 2026 at 7:30 AM
Looking forward to discussing Franziska Cooiman’s paper next week 👇
Reposted by Palma Polyak
🚨New piece in Politics & Society! w/ @maxkiefel.bsky.social @mathiaslarsen.bsky.social
Internationalizing Industrial Policy: How China and the United States Use State Capacity to Secure Critical Minerals for Electric Vehicles 🇨🇳 🇺🇸
doi.org/10.1177/0032...
Internationalizing Industrial Policy: How China and the United States Use State Capacity to Secure Critical Minerals for Electric Vehicles 🇨🇳 🇺🇸
doi.org/10.1177/0032...
February 5, 2026 at 1:26 PM
🚨New piece in Politics & Society! w/ @maxkiefel.bsky.social @mathiaslarsen.bsky.social
Internationalizing Industrial Policy: How China and the United States Use State Capacity to Secure Critical Minerals for Electric Vehicles 🇨🇳 🇺🇸
doi.org/10.1177/0032...
Internationalizing Industrial Policy: How China and the United States Use State Capacity to Secure Critical Minerals for Electric Vehicles 🇨🇳 🇺🇸
doi.org/10.1177/0032...
Reposted by Palma Polyak
🚨 The political economy of finance summer school is back, 3rd year running! Better still: We're bringing it to London via @lse-ei.bsky.social.
𝐓𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐜: Finance & democracy
𝙳̲̲𝚊̲̲𝚝̲̲𝚎̲: 4-5 June 2026
𝘈𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦: March 1. Link below.
We've got brilliant instructors as usual. Please spread the word!
𝐓𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐜: Finance & democracy
𝙳̲̲𝚊̲̲𝚝̲̲𝚎̲: 4-5 June 2026
𝘈𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦: March 1. Link below.
We've got brilliant instructors as usual. Please spread the word!
February 4, 2026 at 3:27 PM
🚨 The political economy of finance summer school is back, 3rd year running! Better still: We're bringing it to London via @lse-ei.bsky.social.
𝐓𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐜: Finance & democracy
𝙳̲̲𝚊̲̲𝚝̲̲𝚎̲: 4-5 June 2026
𝘈𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦: March 1. Link below.
We've got brilliant instructors as usual. Please spread the word!
𝐓𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐜: Finance & democracy
𝙳̲̲𝚊̲̲𝚝̲̲𝚎̲: 4-5 June 2026
𝘈𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦: March 1. Link below.
We've got brilliant instructors as usual. Please spread the word!
Reposted by Palma Polyak
Applications are open for the Finance Summer School 2026. Last two have been at Brown. This one is at LSE thanks to LSE European Institute and Huth Initiative, plus the Berkeley Program on Finance and Democracy. Stellar Line up. Apps open: forms.gle/WsEVk4Yy52Dn...
February 3, 2026 at 9:21 PM
Applications are open for the Finance Summer School 2026. Last two have been at Brown. This one is at LSE thanks to LSE European Institute and Huth Initiative, plus the Berkeley Program on Finance and Democracy. Stellar Line up. Apps open: forms.gle/WsEVk4Yy52Dn...
Reposted by Palma Polyak
We are looking for a postdoc!
‼️If you are an early career researcher interested in CPE and related field and focus on Eastern Europe, the great team around @dorobohle.bsky.social at the Department of Political Science @univie.ac.at is looking for a postdoc 📣 Deadline 27.02. 📯Details here👇 jobs.univie.ac.at/job/Universi...
jobs.univie.ac.at
January 28, 2026 at 7:52 PM
We are looking for a postdoc!
Reposted by Palma Polyak
brass solidarity band performing “stand by me” in the streets of whittier next to alex pretti’s memorial. the crowd started chanting “the people united will never be defeated” so they incorporated it into the song. i love minneapolis
January 27, 2026 at 12:22 AM
brass solidarity band performing “stand by me” in the streets of whittier next to alex pretti’s memorial. the crowd started chanting “the people united will never be defeated” so they incorporated it into the song. i love minneapolis
Happening TODAY 🤩
Really looking forward to next week’s MaxCPE webinar with @ingarade.bsky.social presenting her great work on finance & the far right, with @gscheiring.bsky.social joining as discussant.
📅 Wed 21 Jan, 1–2pm CET
📧 Sign up: maxcpe@mpifg.de
Check out the full program here: www.mpifg.de/1030945/curr...
📅 Wed 21 Jan, 1–2pm CET
📧 Sign up: maxcpe@mpifg.de
Check out the full program here: www.mpifg.de/1030945/curr...
January 21, 2026 at 8:00 AM
Happening TODAY 🤩
Wow, welcome to growth models scholarship, President Macron! 🤩
France's key priority is addressing global imbalances:
US consumes too much, China too little, Europe invests too little (ah, the whiff of liberal nostalgia perfuming the room)
US consumes too much, China too little, Europe invests too little (ah, the whiff of liberal nostalgia perfuming the room)
January 20, 2026 at 1:40 PM
Wow, welcome to growth models scholarship, President Macron! 🤩
Reposted by Palma Polyak
I will be presenting my study on far-right financial regimes Wed 21st (1pm CET) at the Max Planck Comparative Political Economy Series; join us if you'd like to discuss why Meloni's financial-market policies differ so sharply from Trump's... www.mpifg.de/1030945/curr...
Current Program
Wednesday, December 17, 2025 | 13:00–14:00Making Global Migration More Acceptable? How the Rights and Obligations of Immigrants Upon Arrival Shape Preferences for Immigrant AdmissionAlexandre Afonso, Universiteit Leiden (joint work with Samir Mustafa Negash, Elif Kayran and Emil Wolff)
www.mpifg.de
January 14, 2026 at 9:24 AM
I will be presenting my study on far-right financial regimes Wed 21st (1pm CET) at the Max Planck Comparative Political Economy Series; join us if you'd like to discuss why Meloni's financial-market policies differ so sharply from Trump's... www.mpifg.de/1030945/curr...
Really looking forward to next week’s MaxCPE webinar with @ingarade.bsky.social presenting her great work on finance & the far right, with @gscheiring.bsky.social joining as discussant.
📅 Wed 21 Jan, 1–2pm CET
📧 Sign up: maxcpe@mpifg.de
Check out the full program here: www.mpifg.de/1030945/curr...
📅 Wed 21 Jan, 1–2pm CET
📧 Sign up: maxcpe@mpifg.de
Check out the full program here: www.mpifg.de/1030945/curr...
January 15, 2026 at 1:12 PM
Really looking forward to next week’s MaxCPE webinar with @ingarade.bsky.social presenting her great work on finance & the far right, with @gscheiring.bsky.social joining as discussant.
📅 Wed 21 Jan, 1–2pm CET
📧 Sign up: maxcpe@mpifg.de
Check out the full program here: www.mpifg.de/1030945/curr...
📅 Wed 21 Jan, 1–2pm CET
📧 Sign up: maxcpe@mpifg.de
Check out the full program here: www.mpifg.de/1030945/curr...
Reposted by Palma Polyak
Even after two world wars and a century of upheaval, wealth in 🇩🇪 shows strong persistence. About 8% of today’s top fortunes trace back to the early 1900s: 82 of the richest families today were already among the richest in 1913, challenging the idea of a fully meritocratic elite.
January 9, 2026 at 6:08 AM
Even after two world wars and a century of upheaval, wealth in 🇩🇪 shows strong persistence. About 8% of today’s top fortunes trace back to the early 1900s: 82 of the richest families today were already among the richest in 1913, challenging the idea of a fully meritocratic elite.
Little known WWII fact: ~70% of Allied fuel came from Venezuelan crude, refined at Shell’s Curaçao & Aruba plants. It helped defeat Nazi Germany and save Europe. The US commandeered that oil too. Today’s talk of “running” Venezuela? Same power, same oil. The purpose is gone @70sbachchan.bsky.social
January 5, 2026 at 12:13 PM
Little known WWII fact: ~70% of Allied fuel came from Venezuelan crude, refined at Shell’s Curaçao & Aruba plants. It helped defeat Nazi Germany and save Europe. The US commandeered that oil too. Today’s talk of “running” Venezuela? Same power, same oil. The purpose is gone @70sbachchan.bsky.social
Reposted by Palma Polyak
📢 Very timely new paper by @paulahaufe.bsky.social - give it a read!
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Green financial power in geoeconomic times: Development banks between Wall Street and Paris - Paula Haufe, 2025
Public climate finance in the third decade of the 21st century is awkwardly positioned between the Wall Street Consensus (WSC), state capitalism, and climate ju...
journals.sagepub.com
December 28, 2025 at 8:01 PM
📢 Very timely new paper by @paulahaufe.bsky.social - give it a read!
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
A sobering read on the sacrifice zones of China’s green FDI boom. From environmental harm to smear campaigns against local residents, Nick Kusnetz’s excellent reporting centers the Hungarian activists pushing back against battery megaprojects under autocratic conditions
www.wired.com/story/chinas...
www.wired.com/story/chinas...
The Environmental and Human Rights Costs of China’s Clean Energy Investments Abroad
Chinese companies have pledged hundreds of billions of dollars in clean energy manufacturing investments overseas, but the projects are having significant social, environmental, and human rights impac...
www.wired.com
December 27, 2025 at 8:52 PM
A sobering read on the sacrifice zones of China’s green FDI boom. From environmental harm to smear campaigns against local residents, Nick Kusnetz’s excellent reporting centers the Hungarian activists pushing back against battery megaprojects under autocratic conditions
www.wired.com/story/chinas...
www.wired.com/story/chinas...
Reposted by Palma Polyak
Delighted to have consulted on this story. The Trump administration recognizes importance of batteries for drones & AI but is biased against EVs which is biggest source of demand for batteries. Can the US have a vibrant battery sector w/o robust production of EVs? www.nytimes.com/2025/12/23/c...
The Pentagon and A.I. Giants Have a Weakness. Both Need China’s Batteries, Badly.
www.nytimes.com
December 26, 2025 at 8:49 PM
Delighted to have consulted on this story. The Trump administration recognizes importance of batteries for drones & AI but is biased against EVs which is biggest source of demand for batteries. Can the US have a vibrant battery sector w/o robust production of EVs? www.nytimes.com/2025/12/23/c...
Reposted by Palma Polyak
The decision to finance arms for Ukraine through collective EU debt is taboo-breaking--but also part of a larger security turn in Europe. Ophelia Bentley & I have a new piece out that shows how the EU has geopoliticized markets in an unexpected arena: competition policy. doi.org/10.1017/elo.... 1/
The securitization of competition in the European Union | European Law Open | Cambridge Core
The securitization of competition in the European Union
doi.org
December 22, 2025 at 5:07 PM
The decision to finance arms for Ukraine through collective EU debt is taboo-breaking--but also part of a larger security turn in Europe. Ophelia Bentley & I have a new piece out that shows how the EU has geopoliticized markets in an unexpected arena: competition policy. doi.org/10.1017/elo.... 1/
Reposted by Palma Polyak
Not exactly a Xmas merrymaking post, but I wrote something on the changing environment for international academics in the Netherlands and how it has changed over the last 10 years: open.substack.com/pub/alexandr...
December 20, 2025 at 9:19 AM
Not exactly a Xmas merrymaking post, but I wrote something on the changing environment for international academics in the Netherlands and how it has changed over the last 10 years: open.substack.com/pub/alexandr...
Reposted by Palma Polyak
"This is an under-discussed aspect of the EV transition. Why on earth would an oil-less country like Germany be so keen on sticking to the internal combustion engine?"-@giuliomattioli.bsky.social
Many countries leapfrogging & getting EVs QUICKLY. Great Ember report ember-energy.org/latest-insig...
Many countries leapfrogging & getting EVs QUICKLY. Great Ember report ember-energy.org/latest-insig...
December 18, 2025 at 10:49 PM
"This is an under-discussed aspect of the EV transition. Why on earth would an oil-less country like Germany be so keen on sticking to the internal combustion engine?"-@giuliomattioli.bsky.social
Many countries leapfrogging & getting EVs QUICKLY. Great Ember report ember-energy.org/latest-insig...
Many countries leapfrogging & getting EVs QUICKLY. Great Ember report ember-energy.org/latest-insig...
Reposted by Palma Polyak
Honestly, from an EU-wide perspective this could be the most significant thing about last night's decision:
The decision also introduces a precedent for flexibility in deciding on this kind of EU funding, namely the possibility of opting out for a few countries that don’t share the scheme’s objectives. This precedent is likely to be very useful in future EU decision-making. A strategic win. (4/5)
December 19, 2025 at 11:53 AM
Honestly, from an EU-wide perspective this could be the most significant thing about last night's decision:
If 24 member states (including all the large ones) have the *political will* to do something, there’s always a legal avenue to make it happen.
Too often, the EU’s hiding behind a tiny member state’s veto threat simply means that there was no such political will in the first place.
Too often, the EU’s hiding behind a tiny member state’s veto threat simply means that there was no such political will in the first place.
The decision also introduces a precedent for flexibility in deciding on this kind of EU funding, namely the possibility of opting out for a few countries that don’t share the scheme’s objectives. This precedent is likely to be very useful in future EU decision-making. A strategic win. (4/5)
December 19, 2025 at 12:12 PM
If 24 member states (including all the large ones) have the *political will* to do something, there’s always a legal avenue to make it happen.
Too often, the EU’s hiding behind a tiny member state’s veto threat simply means that there was no such political will in the first place.
Too often, the EU’s hiding behind a tiny member state’s veto threat simply means that there was no such political will in the first place.
Reposted by Palma Polyak
Alors que l’UE se réunit pour l’un des Conseils les plus difficiles, la stratégie climatique européenne vacille.
La voie pour résoudre le trilemme de la transition est étroite — @shahinvallee.bsky.social et @palmapolyak.bsky.social proposent une feuille de route.
legrandcontinent.eu/fr/2025/12/1...
La voie pour résoudre le trilemme de la transition est étroite — @shahinvallee.bsky.social et @palmapolyak.bsky.social proposent une feuille de route.
legrandcontinent.eu/fr/2025/12/1...
Est-ce la fin du Pacte vert européen ? | Le Grand Continent
Alors que les dirigeants de l’Union sont réunis dans l’un des Conseils les plus difficiles et que les agriculteurs européens en colère affluent vers Bruxelles, l’ensemble de la stratégie climatique eu...
legrandcontinent.eu
December 19, 2025 at 11:22 AM
Alors que l’UE se réunit pour l’un des Conseils les plus difficiles, la stratégie climatique européenne vacille.
La voie pour résoudre le trilemme de la transition est étroite — @shahinvallee.bsky.social et @palmapolyak.bsky.social proposent une feuille de route.
legrandcontinent.eu/fr/2025/12/1...
La voie pour résoudre le trilemme de la transition est étroite — @shahinvallee.bsky.social et @palmapolyak.bsky.social proposent une feuille de route.
legrandcontinent.eu/fr/2025/12/1...
Reposted by Palma Polyak
Essentially, we are back to the legal proposal the Commission had put on the table in parallel to using the Russian assets: Borrow on the markets agains the headroom of the EU budget. To do this, the MFF regulation which governs the multiannual financial framework 2021-27 needs to be changed.
December 19, 2025 at 8:49 AM
Essentially, we are back to the legal proposal the Commission had put on the table in parallel to using the Russian assets: Borrow on the markets agains the headroom of the EU budget. To do this, the MFF regulation which governs the multiannual financial framework 2021-27 needs to be changed.
Reposted by Palma Polyak
A few quick thoughts about this morning's decision. Don't believe the spin from various Russians & others: it's a big deal. The EU has now unambiguously demonstrated that it is able and willing to provide the external financial support Ukraine needs, for as long and as much as it takes. (1/N)
December 19, 2025 at 10:31 AM
A few quick thoughts about this morning's decision. Don't believe the spin from various Russians & others: it's a big deal. The EU has now unambiguously demonstrated that it is able and willing to provide the external financial support Ukraine needs, for as long and as much as it takes. (1/N)
Reposted by Palma Polyak
💥The West urged resistance to Moscow, then stood aside and did nothing when Russian tanks rolled in. This narrative of Western betrayal dates back to Hungary’s 1956 anti-Soviet revolution. Back then the USSR was powerful — not a failing state like today’s Russia.
Will history still repeat itself?
Will history still repeat itself?
December 18, 2025 at 10:55 AM
💥The West urged resistance to Moscow, then stood aside and did nothing when Russian tanks rolled in. This narrative of Western betrayal dates back to Hungary’s 1956 anti-Soviet revolution. Back then the USSR was powerful — not a failing state like today’s Russia.
Will history still repeat itself?
Will history still repeat itself?