pathway: Global Political Economy/Global Challenges and Transformations: Geopolitics, Inequalities and Mobilities

My research aims to enrich the study of hope and fill a gap in the growing field of basic income studies by analysing the Universal Basic Income Movement, which advocates for economic justice. I will analyse how hope manifests within the movement to understand hope’s role in demonstrating and creating alternatives for a more just society. I aim to connect the theory and practice of hope and contribute research that brings hope to the forefront of understanding political change, through grounding my theory in the everyday ways that activists experience and practice hope.

My research aims to unpack the connection between women-led anti-war activism and gender/power distributions in militarised societies through the concept of hegemonic femininity. I will explore the manifestations of hegemonic femininity in the context of two conflicts and related movements: the Balkan Wars (Women in Black Serbia) and the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine (Feminist Anti-War Resistance).

My research explores how gender, race, and class shape state identity and behaviour in the space sector. My work is multidisciplinary, studying how state identity is constructed through history and popular culture, maintained through boundary-drawing practices, and demonstrated in policy and action. I will explore the narrative of a congested, competitive, and contested space arena and reveal that this narrative, along with current state aims of exploration and extraction, are shaped by patriarchal, colonial, and capitalist norms.

My research seeks to engage with human rights as political tools within tobacco control and not simply legal resources. I aim to problematise the use of corporate social responsibility and environmental social governance by transnational tobacco companies and move beyond protection towards transformation of disabling environments. Using the case study of tobacco cultivation in the state of Nayarit, Mexico, I will unpick the complex web of interactions, processes and actors, from the local to the global through the supply chains of the tobacco industry, exploring concepts, including (un)free labour, precarious work, and colonial capitalism.

I will analyse the narratives about British nuclear testing in Australia (BNT) from Indigenous Australians, nuclear test veterans, and their supporters, who have worked to make BNT socially visible. The objectives are to reveal the harm and injustice inflicted, examine how narratives have made them visible, clarify the challenges of the visibility process, and explore ways to create effective policy and a better society in consultation with affected communities. The findings will have an impact beyond nuclear policies, encompassing other global challenges that require visibility such as climate crisis, toxic waste, chemical and biological weapons, and socio-political harms.

My research interests lie at the intersection of feminist and urban theoretical frameworks, focusing on the exploration of menstrual health. For my doctoral project, I am utilising a comprehensive blend of embodiment, feminist, and urban theories to delve into the intricate ways in which women in Western Uganda experience menstruation in their daily lives. Through an intersectional and interdisciplinary approach, my research seeks to comprehend the nuanced interplay between societal, cultural, and structural factors, and how these shape an individual’s perception and experience of menstruation.

My research takes a qualitative, critical-theoretical approach to the Scandinavian context of Welfare-Chauvinism to answer the question: how have Neoliberal pressures shaped exclusionary welfare reform? Grounding our understanding of the form of the capitalist state in the social relations which it reflects, my research seeks to explore the ways in which the shifting of European market relations since the 1980’s has endorsed a crisis of the Social Democratic state-form, thus resulting in exclusionary and marginalising policy solutions. My work therefore operationalises interdisciplinary methods such as to holistically grasp the complex interdependencies of state, market and individual, and the ways in which social and economic antagonisms are mediated in-and-through social policy.

My work draws on critical and political economic theory to understand how systems and structural processes impact society, economy, and environment. My PhD research explores the extent to which different types of financial systems (e.g. state-led in China, bank-based in Germany, market-based in the UK) are contributing towards the climate crisis in a world where the macro-financial capitalist structure promotes convergence across national systems and geographies. The main mechanism of interaction between financial systems and the climate crisis I explore is those capital flows (loans, bond or equity purchases, etc.) that move from financial institutions into specific sectors like renewable or fossil fuel energy that contribute or impede efforts to mitigate/adapt to the climate crisis. Marshalling finance is one of the key issues in meeting sustainability goals this century, and I’m interested in understanding how we can better construct our financial systems to meet these goals.

University of Bristol Research Profile:

https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/persons/stefan-a-zylinski

It is becoming ever more apparent that society faces an increasing number of threatening environmental challenges. With a growing number of events linked to global warming, such as the increase in world temperatures and rising sea level since the 19th century, it is possible to see the importance of making real progress towards decarbonisation. As a result of this, I intend to explore the modes of best practice for implementing national carbon tax policies, focusing on previous success factors, potential new initiatives and the role of politics.