
Christoph Scherrer (born 1956,
Frankfurt am Main
Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
) is a German economist and political scientist. Currently, he is a professor of globalization and politics and Executive Director of the
International Center for Development and Decent Work at the
University of Kassel
The University of Kassel () is a university founded in 1971 located in Kassel, Hessen, in central Germany. As of February 2022 it had about 25,000 students and about 3300 staff, including more than 300 professors.
A special unit (Studienkoll ...
.
Life
Christoph Scherrer studied economics and American studies at the
University of Frankfurt, where he also received his PhD in political science in 1989. From 1990–1998, he was an assistant professor at the J.F. Kennedy-Institute of the Free University Berlin. During this time, he was a guest professor at
Rutgers University
Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...
in Newark, a visiting fellow in the Department of Political Science at
Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
, held a J.F. Kennedy-Memorial Fellowship at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
and was a Hewlett Scholar at the John E. Andrus Center for Public Affairs at
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the Methodi ...
, Middletown, CT.
After obtaining his habilitation in 1999, he became a visiting professor of European politics at the
Berlin School of Economics and a visiting professor at the University of Kassel. Since 2000, he has been a full professor of “Globalization & Politics” at the University of Kassel. Since then he has also held posts as a visiting fellow at YCIAS-Yale University, visiting professor at the
Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, visiting scholar at the
International Labour Organization
The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is one of the firs ...
, visiting professor at the
Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Mumbai and senior fellow at the Center for Post-Growth Societies,
University of Jena
The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany.
The university was established in 1558 and is cou ...
.
Currently, Scherrer directs two English-language Master programs: MA Global Political Economy (GPE) and Labour Policies and Globalization (LPG). He is the Executive Director of the International Center for Development and Decent Work (ICDD), an awarded center of excellence in development cooperation, Co-Director of the Böckler/Böll funded PhD program “Global Social Policies and Governance” and a member of the Steering Committee of the
Global Labour University. He is laureate of the "Excellence in Teaching" prize of the state of Hessen, 2007.
Research
Scherrer’s research interests lay in the field of
international political economy
International political economy (IPE) is the study of how politics shapes the global economy and how the global economy shapes politics. A key focus in IPE is on the power of different actors such as nation states, international organizations and ...
, in particular the social dimensions of
globalization
Globalization is the process of increasing interdependence and integration among the economies, markets, societies, and cultures of different countries worldwide. This is made possible by the reduction of barriers to international trade, th ...
.
He contributed to the development of
French Regulation Theory through an extensive study of the transition of the U.S. auto and steel industry to
post-Fordism
The concept of post-Fordism was originally invented by the economist Robin Murray in the British magazine ''Marxism Today'' in 1988. It referred to the emergence of new production methods defined by flexible production, the individualization of ...
and through a
post-structuralist
Post-structuralism is a philosophical movement that questions the objectivity or stability of the various interpretive structures that are posited by structuralism and considers them to be constituted by broader systems of Power (social and poli ...
inspired critique of its neglect of contingency in phases of stable
capital accumulation
Capital accumulation is the dynamic that motivates the pursuit of profit, involving the investment of money or any financial asset with the goal of increasing the initial monetary value of said asset as a financial return whether in the form ...
. He introduced
Gramscian insights to
international political economy
International political economy (IPE) is the study of how politics shapes the global economy and how the global economy shapes politics. A key focus in IPE is on the power of different actors such as nation states, international organizations and ...
in
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
and coined the term ‘double hegemony’ for the interlaced linkage of the
hegemony
Hegemony (, , ) is the political, economic, and military predominance of one State (polity), state over other states, either regional or global.
In Ancient Greece (ca. 8th BC – AD 6th c.), hegemony denoted the politico-military dominance of ...
of the US-American national-state with the hegemony of an emerging international
bourgeoisie
The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and aristocracy. They are traditionally contrasted wi ...
.
He directed numerous studies on the “Social Dimensions of International Trade” and “Trade in Services” funded by the Hans Böckler Stiftung (HBS), the
Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES), the
German Foreign Office, the
German Parliament, the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
, and the
Austrian Chancellery. His most recent work is co-directing an international research project on economic inequality.
Books
* Scherrer, C., Garcia, A. and Wullweber, J. (2023
Handbook on Critical Political Economy and Public Policy Elgar.
* Scherrer, C. (2021) Macht in weltweiten Lieferketten, Hamburg, VSA.
* Scherrer, C. (2021): America second? Die USA, China und der Weltmarkt, Berlin, Bertz + Fischer Verlag.
* Karatepe and Scherrer (eds.) 2021: The Phantom of Upgrading in Agricultural Supply Chains: A Cross-Country, Cross-Crop Comparison of Smallholders, Nomos.
*Scherrer, C. and Santosh, V.(2018)
Decent Work Deficits in Southern Agriculture: Measurements, Drivers and Strategies.Augsburg: Rainer Hampp Verlag.
*Scherrer,C.(2017)
Public Banks in the Age of Financialization: A Comparative Perspective.Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
*Scherrer, C. (2017)
Enforcement Instruments for Social Human Rights along Supply Chains.Augsburg: Rainer Hampp Verlag.
* Christoph Scherrer, Katja Radon, Andreas Haarstrick, Lars Ribbe, Reiner Doluschitz(Hrsg.) 2016: Forced Migration - environmental and socioeconomic dimensions. Perspectives of higher education institutions in development cooperation: 19 - 20 Oktober 2016, Berlin, Germany: 1st Exceed Conference Summary. München: Exceed Conference.
* Ulrich Brand, Helen Schwenken, Joscha Wullweber (eds.): ''Globalisierung analysieren, kritisieren und verändern:'' Das Projekt Kritische Wissenschaft. Festschrift for Christoph Scherrer, VSA 2016,
* with
Alexander Gallas, Hansjörg Herr and Frank Hoffer (eds.): ''Combating Inequality. The Global North and South.'' Routledge, 2015,
Look inside)* Scherrer (ed.) 2014:
he Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership: Implications for Labor Mering, Rainer Hampp Verlag.
* with Bob Jessop, Brigitte Young (eds.), 2014
Financial Cultures and Crisis Dynamics Oxford, Routledge.
* with Debdulal Saha (eds.), 2013
Food Crisis: Implications for Labour Mering, Rainer Hampp Verlag.
* with Andreas Hänlein (Hrsg.), Sozialkapitel in Handelsabkommen - Begründungen und Vorschläge aus juristischer, ökonomischer und politischer Sicht, Integration Europas und Ordnung der Weltwirtschaft, Bd. 38. Nomos-Verlag, 2012
* Scherrer, C. (Ed.). (2011)
China's Labor Question München: Rainer Hampp Verlag. http://www.global-labour-university.org/fileadmin/books/CLQ_full_book.pdf
* with Caren Kunze, Globalisierung, Göttingen, UTB / Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2011
* mit Thomas Dürmeier und Bernd Overwien (Hrsg.), Perspektiven auf die Finanzkrise, Leverkuse,. Verlag Barbara Budrich, 2010
* with Brigitte Young (Hrsg.), The Role of Gender Knowledge in Policy Networks, Baden-Baden, Nomos, 2010
* with Ute Clement, Jörg Nowak und Sabine Ruß (Hrsg.), Public Governance und schwache Interessen, Wiesbaden, VS Verlag, 2010
* Globalisierung wider Willen? Die Durchsetzung liberaler Außenwirtschaftspolitik in den USA, Berlin, Ed. Sigma, 1999
* Im Bann des Fordismus. Die Auto- und Stahlindustrie der USA im internationalen Konkurrenzkampf., Berlin, Ed. Sigma/Rainer Bohn Verlag, 1992
Recent articles
* Rajeev and Scherrer (2021): Smallholders’ Challenges: Realizing Peri-Urban Opportunities in Bangalore, in: Sustainability 2021, 13, 10160.
* Scherrer (2021): The ‘Nested’ Power of TNCs: Smallholders’ Biggest Challenge, in: Agrarian South: Journal of Political Economy, 10(2), 1-13.
*Scherrer 2021: Biden’s economic confrontation strategy for China: implications for workers. in: Global Labour Column, Number 380.
*Scherrer 2021: Capitalism First – wie immer, nur anders. Die US-amerikanische Außenwirtschaftspolitik unter Präsident Biden. in: PROKLA. Zeitschrift für kritische Sozialwissenschaft, 51(2), Heft 203, 297-315.
*Scherrer and Ismail Doga Karatepe 2021: Kollektives Handeln als Voraussetzung für die wirtschaftliche und soziale Aufwertung. Theoretische Überlegungen und Beispiele aus landwirtschaftlichen Lieferketten, in: WSI-Mitteilungen 74 (1) 44-52
*Scherrer, 2020: Superfluous Workers: Why SDG #8 Will Remain Elusive, in: Kaltenborn et al. (eds.), Sustainable Development Goals and Human Rights, Springer, 119-135.
*Scherrer 2020
Novel Labour-related Clauses in a Trade Agreement: From NAFTA to USMCA in: Global Labour Journal, 11(3) 291-306.
*Scherrer, C. and Abernathy, E. (2017). ''Trump’s Trade Policy Agenda'', in: Intereconomics 52 (6), 364-369.
*Scherrer, C. (2017). ''The Development Rationale for International Labour Rights'', in: The Indian Journal of Labour Economics (82) page 1 - 11. DOI: 10.1007/s41027-017-0082-3 https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs41027-017-0082-3.pdf
* Scherrer (2017) ''Trump’s trade policy agenda: more liberalization'', in: Global Labour Column, Number 278, June,
* Scherrer, C., Shah, A. (2017) ''The Return of Commercial Prison Labour'', in: Global Labour Column, Number 269, April, http://column.global-labour-university.org/
* Scherrer, C., Shah, A. (2017) ''The Political Economy of Prison Labor: From Penal Welfarism to the Penal State'', in: ''Global Labour Journal'', 8(1) 32-48.
*Book Review.(2015)"Odd Couple. International Trade and Labor Standards in History". Michael Huberman, in: International Review of Social History, 60(1), pp. 118–120. http://journals.cambridge.org/repo_A9607ebV.V5fLk
*Herr, Hansjörg and Scherrer, Christoph.(2017)Trade, global value chains and working conditions, in: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (ed.), Who benefits from trade? Findings on the link between trade and labour standards in the garment, footwear and electronics industries in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Pakistan, and Vietnam, Office for Regional Cooperation in Asia, Singapore. https://www.uni-kassel.de/fb05/fileadmin/datas/fb05/FG_Politikwissenschaften/GlobPolitik/Publikationen/FES_who-benefits-from-trade_Scherrer.pdf
*with Michael Fichter, Mark Anner, and Frank Hoffer, 2014: The Global Labour University: A new laboratory of learning for international labor solidarity?, in: Working USA, 17(4) 567-579. Article first published online: 12 DEC 2014 , DOI: 10.1111/wusa.12139.
* with Stefan Beck, 2014: Das transatlantische Handels- und Investitionsabkommen: Arbeitsplatzprognosen und Risikoanalysen, in: WSI-Mitteilungen 8/2014, 581–589. http://www.boeckler.de/wsi-mitteilungen_52133_52148.htm
*Scherrer, C. (2014). Neoliberalism’s resilience: a matter of class. Critical Policy Studies, 8(3), 348-351.
* with Alexander Gallas, and Michelle Williams, 2014: Inequality – The Achilles Heel of Free Market Democracy, in: ''International Journal of Labour Research'', 6(1), 143-161.
* 2013: Von der Finanzialisierung zurück zum Boring Banking? In: Vierteljahresheft zur Wirtschaftsforschung, 82(4): 31–43.
* Die Post-hegemoniale USA?, in: Zeitschrift für Außen- und Sicherheitspolitik, 6(1), 89-107.
* Reproducing Hegemony: US Finance Capital and the 2008 Crisis, in: Critical Policy Studies, 5(3) 219–247.
* with Joscha Wullweber, 2011: Post-Modern and Post-structural International Political Economy, in: Denemark, Robert A. (Hrsg.): The International Studies Encyclopedia, Blackwell Reference Online.
*Scherrer, C. (2005). GATS: Long-term Strategy for the Commodification of Education. Review of International Political Economy, 484-510.
*Scherrer, C. (2004). Global Governance: From Fordist Trilateralism to Neoliberal Constitutionalism. In New Rules for Global Markets (pp. 109–129). Palgrave Macmillan UK.
Chicago
References
External links
Homepage at University of Kassel
Website of the ICDDTwitterFacebookOfficial blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scherrer, Christoph
Living people
German economists
German political scientists
1956 births