Angela Wigger (born 2 January 1975) is a political economist at the Political Science department at the Radboud University in the Netherlands.
She specialises in the political economy of global capitalism, with a particular focus on capitalist crises and their political management. Focal points are the revitalisation of industrial policy and its financialisation, debt-led accumulation under rentier capitalism, the fetishisation of "competitiveness", and the weaponisation of antitrust policy in the context of intensifying geo-economic rivalries. As the US, China, and the EU contest economic dominance through subsidies and investor derisking, strategic trade instruments, and the securitisation of supply chains, most visibly in semiconductors, artificial intelligence, electric vehicles, batteries, and critical raw materials, her work interrogates how these rivalries, increasingly articulated through the idiom of the green transition, are reshaping regulatory regimes, reconfiguring accumulation structures, and generating new modalities of crisis governance.
Angela Wigger has conducted extensive research on capitalist restructuring of postwar Europe, industrial relations and the neoliberalisation of EU competition regulation, and financialisation processes. She is the co-author of The Politics of European Competition Regulation. A Critical Political Economy Perspective, with H. Buch-Hansen https://web.archive.org/web/20150223232801/http://www.taylorandfrancis.com/books/details/9780415605793/, and she has published amongst others in journals such as New Political Economy, Review of International Political Economy, the Journal of Common Market Studies, New Political Sciences, Capital & Class, Journal of European Integration, Comparative European Politics, Economy & Society and the Journal of International Relations and Development, Geoforum, Globalizations, Policy Studies, or Politics & Governance.
She has worked at the Political Science Department at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam from 2003 to 2007, where she obtained her PhD. Her dissertation was titled 'Competition for Competitiveness. The Politics of Transformation of the EU Competition Regime' â with Prof. dr. Henk Overbeek and Prof. dr. Andreas Nölke as supervisors. She received a master's degree (cum laude) from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
She appears in Dutch and international media regularly.
Early life
Wigger was born 2 January 1975 in Dierikon, Lucerne.
Affiliations
- Former chair of the Critical Political Economy Research Network (CPERN) @ European Sociological Association (ESA)
- Founding member of the Amsterdam Research Centre for International Political Economy (ARCIPE)
- Chair of the supervisory board of the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO)
- Member of the editorial board of Capital & Class
- Co-editor of the book series Progress in Political Economy
Publications
Books
Book chapters
- (2021) Competition Laws and their Enforcement in the US and Europe: Origins, Evolution and Contestation. In A. Kellow, T. Porter and K. Ronit (eds). Handbook of Business and Public Policy. Edward Elgar.
- (2017) Debunking the myth of ordoliberal influence on European integration: The example of EU competition regulation. In C. Joerges and J. Hien (eds) Ordoliberalism, Law and the Rule of Economics. London: Hart Publishing.
- (2016) Taking critical ontology seriously. Implications for Political Science Methodology. Chapter threein: H. Keman and J. Woldendorp (eds) Handbook of research methods and applications in political science, Edward Elgar. With L. Horn.
- (2016) Business as usual - the EU is (still) driven by corporate interests. Chapter 7 in: A. Dür and H. Zimmerman (eds) Key Controversies in European Integration. Palgrave McMillan. With L. Horn.
- (2015) Alternatives to neoliberal austerity: redefining a progressive structural reforms agenda to reduce inequalities and promote jobs, growth and social investment. In C. Reuter, R. Bazillier, G. Cozzi, A. Crespy, F. De Ville, A. Wigger, M. Claassens, B. Saenen and E.M. Schneider (eds) Progressive Structural Reforms. Proposals for European Reforms to Reduce Inequality.Poland: Aspra-JR. With Bazillier, R. Cozzi, G. Crespy, A., and F. De Ville.
- (2015) Enhancing Competitiveness in Response to the Crisis. A Wrong and Dangerous Obsession, in: J. Jaeger and E. Springer (eds) Asymmetric Crisis in Europe and Possible Futures. Critical Political Economy and Post-Keynesian Perspectives. New York: Routledge/RIPE Series in Global Political Economy.
- (2015) EU Competition Regulation. A Case of Authoritarian Neoliberalism? in E. Hartmann and P.F. Kjaer (eds)The Evolution of Intermediary Institutions in Europe. From Corporatism to Governance. Houndmills, Basingstoke: Palgrave McMillan. With H. Buch-Hansen.
- (2015) EÃ
Âitsiz GeliÃ
Âim ve AB'nin Tasarruf Politikalarñna KarÃ
Âñ Siyasal DireniÃ
Â. In L. Pradella and T. Marois (eds) KutuplaÃ
Âtiran Kalkinma. Neoliberalizme KarÃ
Âñ Alternatifler ve Kriz. Ankara: NotaBene Yayñnevi. With L. Horn.
- (2014) Reply: Breaking the Heartland. Creating the Precariat in the U.S. Lower Rust Belt.In: M. Johnson (ed.) Precariat: Labour, Work and Politics. New York: Routledge.
- (2014) Uneven Development and Political Resistance Against EU Austerity Politics. In L. Pradella and T. Marois (eds) Polarizing Development. Alternatives to Neoliberalism and the Crisis. London: Pluto Press. With L. Horn.
- (2013) "The Political Interface of Financialisation and the Regulation of Mergers and Acquisitions in the EU". Chapter 6 in U. Aydin and K.P. Thomas (eds.) Globalization and EU Competition Policy. New York and London: Routledge. 93-11.
- (2012) EU Competition Policy and the Ascendancy of Neoliberalism in P. Nousios, H. Overbeek and A. Tsokalis Globalisation and European Integration. Critical Approaches to Regional Order and International Relations. London and New York: Routledge (Warwick Studies in Globalisation). With Hubert Buch-Hansen.
- (2012) The unfolding contradictions of neoliberal competition regulation and the global economic crisis. A missed opportunity for change? Chapter 1 in H. Overbeek and B. van Apeldoorn (eds) 'Neoliberalism in Crisis, Basingstoke: Palgrave McMillan.
- (2011) Unravelling the Political Role of Experts and Expertise in the Professional Services Industry. Chapter 7 in B. Reinalda The Ashgate Research Companion to Non-State Actors. Aldershot: Ashgate.
- (2008) 'Exporting Europe's Core Business? The External Dimension of EU Competition Policy. In: J. Orbie, (ed.) Europe's Global Role: External Policies of the European Union. Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing.
- (2007) Towards A Market-Based Approach: The Privatization and Micro-Economization of EU Antitrust Law Enforcement. Chapter 6. In: B. van Apeldoorn, A. Nölke and H. Overbeek 'The Transnational Politics of Corporate Governance Regulation', New York and London: Routledge.
Selected articles
- (2025).ÃÂ Luxemburg. Gesellschaftsanalyse und linke Praxis.ÃÂ
- Housing as a site of accumulation in Amsterdam and the creation of surplus populations. (2021) Geoforum. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2020.10.007
- De noodzaak voor een radicaal links antwoord op het neoliberaal kapitalisme (2021). S&D. With R. Fernandez.
- The new EU Industrial Policy: Authoritarian Neoliberal Structural Adjustment and the Case for Alternatives. (2019) Globalizations. https://doi.org/10.1080/14747731.2018.1502496
- Neoliberale Industriepolitik im sozialen Schafspelz. Ein Nachruf auf die Europäische Sozialdemokratie (2019). PROKLA. Zeitschrift für kritische Sozialwissenschaft 49(196): 407-425. With L. Horn.
- Studying Capitalist Dystopias and Avenues for Change (2019). openDemocracy. With D. Bailey.
- The Political Economy of EU Competition Rule Export: Unravelling the dynamics of variegated convergence in Serbia and Turkey. (2018) Journal of International Relations and Development. With J. Maisenbacher.
- Too Big to Control? The politics of mega-mergers and why the EU is not stopping them (2017). Corporate Europe Observatory, Brussels. With H. Buch-Hansen.
- Understanding the Competition-Crisis Nexus. Revisiting US Capitalist Crises (2017). Rethinking Marxism 29(4): 556-573.
- Politiek van cijferfetisjisme en permanente concurrentie. Spanning 19(3): 23.
- Lehman Brothers in the Dutch offshore financial centre: The role of shadow banking in increasing leverage and facilitating debt (2016), with R. Fernandez. Economy and Society 45(3-4): 407-430 http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03085147.2016.1264167
- From dissent to resistance. Locating patterns of horizontalist self-management crisis responses in Europe . Comparative European Politics. DOI: 10.1057/s41295-016-0076-4.
- Capitalism and Competition Regulation in Europe. A Synopsis (2016), with H. Buch-Hansen. E-International Relations.
- A ascensão da regulação concorrencial de caráter neoliberal na Comunidade Europeia. Direito & Práxis 7(4): 610-642.
- Anarchism as emancipatory theory and praxis. Implications for critical research (2016). Capital & Class 40(1): 129âÂÂ145.
- Capitalism and Competition Regulation in Europe: A Synopsis. E-International Relations (E-IR) January. With H. Buch-Hansen.
- A critical appraisal of what could be an anarchist political economy (2014). Ephemera. Theory and Politics in Organisation 14(4): 737-49.
- Explaining (Missing) Regulatory Paradigm Shifts: EU Competition Regulation in Times of Economic Crisis (2014), with H. Buch-Hansen. New Political Economy 19(1): 113âÂÂ137.
- De mythe van 'competitiveness' als uitweg uit de crisis. Volonté Générale. Debat. Visie. Toekomst, 2 (Mei-Juni).
- Competition, the global crisis and alternatives to neoliberal capitalism. A critical engagement with anarchism (2013), with H. Buch-Hansen. New Political Science: A Journal of Politics and Culture 35(4): 604âÂÂ26.
- Breaking the Heartland: Creating the Precariat in the U.S. Lower Rust Belt: A Response to Joseph J. Varga. Global Discourse. An Interdisciplinary Journal of current Affairs and Applied Contemporary Thought 3(3-4): 447-9.
- Ungleiche Entwicklung und politischer Widerstand - auf zu einem europäischen Frühling? Das Argument. Zeitschrift für Philosophie und Sozialwissenschaften, 301(2013): 200-209. With L. Horn.
- Reflections on competition, competition regulation and the current crises, Embedded in Business, Politics & Society, 3(1): 36-48. With H. Buch-Hansen.
- 'Crisis in Europa! Maar waar zijn de politicologen? Een verkenning van de kritische politieke economie in de Lage Landen', 2012(2) Res Publica.
- The Political Interface of Financialisation and the Regulation of Mergers and Acquisitions in the EU (2012) Journal of European Integration 34(6): 623âÂÂ41.
- Revisiting 50 Years of Market-Making: The Neoliberal Transformation of EC Competition Policy (2010), with H. Buch-Hansen. Review of International Political Economy 17(1): 20âÂÂ44.
- De EU en de financieel-economische crisis. Business as usual of breekpunt? Klasse, 10(2010): 1-3. With L. Horn.
- Routledge Handbook of International Political Economy (IPE): IPE as a Global Conversation' by M. Blyth (ed), Governance. An International Journal of Policy, Administration and Institutions, 23(1):198-200.
- The Political Role of Transnational Experts in Shaping EU Competition Policy: Towards a Pan-European System of Private Enforcement (2009). Legisprudence 3(2): 251âÂÂ75.
- The Privatisation of EU Business Regulation and the Erosion of Rhenish Capitalism: The Case of Antitrust Enforcement (2007), with A. Nölke. Journal of Common Market Studies 45(1): 487âÂÂ513.
- La crociata sulla convergenza: le politiche sulle leggi e pratiche della concorrenza globale. Il lavoro pubblico, No. 79, 15 June.
- Review on the book by Indra de Soysa (2003) 'Foreign Direct Investment, Democracy and Development: Assessing the Contours, Correlates, and Concomitants of Globalization' (London: Routledge) in Political Studies Review, 2(3), September 2004.
References
Media Appearances
External links