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Philip Manow is Professor of Comparative Political Economy, University of Bremen. His research interests include comparative welfare state research, the German political system, European integration and Political Theory. Publications include In the King's Shadow. The Political Anatomy of Democratic Representation (Polity Press, 2010) and Religion, Class Coalitions and Welfare States, Cambridge Studies on Social Theory, Religion and Politics (co-authored with Kees van Kersbergen, CUP, 2009). Bruno Palier is CNRS Research Director at Sciences Po, Centre d'etudes europeennes. He is studying welfare reforms in Europe. He is co-director of LIEPP (Laboratory for interdisciplinary Evaluation of Public Policies)

Using the theoretical framework of surveillance capitalism, this paper analyses the election campaigns of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of India during the 2014 and 2019 elections. It endeavours to find out how BJP has weaponised information during these two elections: a) to convince voters, b) to consolidate power at home. By doing content analysis of both primary and secondary sources, the research finds out that massive targeted advertisements were used by BJP's social media cell during these elections. Third parties (proxy) sources were especially helpful for BJP on Facebook for a wider outreach of its message on social media. The research further elaborates that the timing of targeted advertisements is shaped in a way that it ensures that people click the ad, thus achieving the desired political outcomes for BJP. Towards the end, it formulates a vehement case of taking back control of Indian digital lives by bringing cyberspace under greater democratic oversight and legal accountability.

Socialism, Capitalism, Transformation reveals the mind of an academic who was not afraid to turn politician when the opportunity arose. In it, Leszek Balcerowicz, leader of the largest opposition party in Poland, former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, summarizes some twenty years of research into the connections between economic and political institutions and human behaviour, institutional change, and the way such change occurs. Part I provides a comparative analysis of capitalist and socialist regimes, examining in particular the compatibility of different economic and political institutions and policies. In Part II Balcerowicz discusses institutional change, focusing on the post-communist transition in Central and Eastern Europe since the late 1980s. He deals with political and economic developments and looks at the interplay between them. Here he blends academic knowledge with the insight gained while holding a position of major government responsibility during Poland's period of 'extraordinary politics'. Part III contains writings on Poland's own economic transformation and related political developments. The final chapter consists of personal recollection of Poland's reforms - an insider's view of a pivotal phase in that country's history

"The only true aging is the erosion of one's ideals," says Ralph Nader, the former third-party presidential candidate who just turned 90 after more than 60 years of consumer advocacy and fighting for small business in America. From influencing the transformative passage of car safety legislation to advancing numerous environmental protection and public accountability causes, Nader has fought against the proliferation and insinuation of corporate power in our government.

In between all of that, Nader has also found the time to develop a prolific writing career. In this week's episode, Nader joins Bethany and Luigi to discuss his new book, "Rebellious CEO: 12 Leaders Who Got It Right." The three talk about the possibilities of ethically profitable business, Nader's lifelong pursuit of justice, his views on the state of capitalism today, the political disillusionment of the public, and how we can reclaim democratic control of capitalism.

An examination of the form that capitalism will take in the wake of the collapse of Eastern European communism, the end of the Cold War, & European unification. With the resulting decline in its economic & military position, the US will be forced to effect changes in its capitalist system. The tenuous future of capitalism in Eastern Europe, Western Europe, & the Third World is also discussed. R. Logsdon

The proceedings of the first Congress of the Groen Links (GL) -- the Netherlands' new Green Left party, whose politics is left of the Social Democrats -- are discussed, & a brief history of the party is given. Founded in 1990, the GL is the result of unification of the Evangelical People's party, the Radical Political party, the Pacifist Socialist party, & the Communist party. In 1991 these parties dissolved remaining elements of their old structures & collectively endorsed: the removal of all nuclear weapons & foreign troops from Dutch soil; the introduction of significant environmental legislation; a shorter working week; the decentralization & democratization of the state; & the empowerment of groups within civil society. Points of contention between the different factions who comprise the GL are discussed, & future directions of the party are suggested. W. Howard

"China's contemporary political economy features an emboldened role for the state as owner and regulator, and with markets expected to act in the service of party-state goals. How has the relationship between the state and different types of firms evolved? This Element situates China's reform-era political economy in comparative analytic perspective with attention to adaptations of its model over time. Just as other types of economies have generated internal dynamics and external reactions that undermine initial arrangements, so too has China's political economy. While China's state has always played a core role in development, over time prioritization of growth has shifted to a variant of state capitalism best described as, "party-state capitalism," which emphasizes risk management and leadership by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Rather than reflecting long-held intentions of the CCP, the transition to party-state capitalism emerged from reactions to perceived threats and problems, some domestic and some external. These adaptations are refracted in the contemporary crises of global capitalism."