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Ed­ward Ash­bee

Professor mso

Subjects
International relations Politics Nationalism Election China USA United Kingdom

Primary research areas

Pop­u­lism and po­lar­iz­a­tion
My work con­siders the rise of con­ser­vat­ive pop­u­lism and na­tion­al­ism and the im­plic­a­tions of all these trends for eco­nom­ic and so­cial policy, polit­ics, mar­kets and busi­ness. How far have the growth of pop­u­list forces, the Brexit vote and Don­ald Trump’s polit­ic­al as­cend­ancy changed the char­ac­ter of polit­ic­al dis­courses, polit­ic­al parties, as well as the po­s­i­tion of busi­ness in­terests and oth­er lob­bies? And, should cur­rent de­vel­op­ments be re­garded as ab­er­ra­tion or an en­dur­ing shift?
Re­spond­ing to the rise of China
Much of my cur­rent work also con­siders glob­al re­la­tions and poli­cy­mak­ing pro­cesses and the ways in which these shape the over­all char­ac­ter of mar­kets and busi­ness strategies. In par­tic­u­lar, I look at the shap­ing and mak­ing of policy to­wards the rise of China in both Europe and the United States. My re­cent pub­lic­a­tions have as­sessed US policy re­sponses to China’s Belt & Road Ini­ti­at­ive and the UK’s 2015 de­cision to join the Asi­an In­fra­struc­ture In­vest­ment Bank (AIIB).
Shifts and changes in US for­eign policy tra­ject­or­ies
There is a third strand to my work. US for­eign policy now dom­in­ates the head­lines like nev­er be­fore. All the long-es­tab­lished cer­tain­ties about al­li­ances, friends and ad­versar­ies now not only ap­pear to be in doubt but in jeop­ardy. Many ques­tions have rightly been asked. Does the US have a clear and con­sist­ent stra­tegic tra­ject­ory? Are the post-war al­li­ances now bey­ond re­pair? And what are the con­sequences for Europe. Can it turn talk of great­er self-re­li­ance into a real­ity?

Glob­al polit­ic­al eco­nom­ic and polit­ic­al shifts: causes and con­sequences

My work considers the character of contemporary economic and political shifts and the impact of these upon markets, firms and society more broadly. In particular, I look at two developments. First, I examine the ways in which the rise of populist and nationalist forces are reconfiguring politics and international relations. Are these developments now leading to DEglobalization? What public policy shifts should we expect? How will business interests and labour unions be affected? Is all of this a temporary aberration or an enduring shift? Second, the rise of China as it has become an economic superpower over recent decades has changed the character of labour and consumer markets. I consider the reactions and responses to China’s rise across the west as many governments have turned to securitization and protectionism. There has been immense soul-searching as China has moved into high-tech sectors and responses had shifted backwards and forwards between threats and efforts to secure an accord. Against this background, business strategies have inevitably been uneven and disorderly.  

I have published a substantial number of studies of these trends and provided many media commentaries. I also serve as the Danish head of the MSc Public Management and Social Development programme at the Sino-Danish Center for Education and Research in Huairou (just outside Beijing) and as PhD Coordinator for my department.