Second Max Planck Summer School for Women in Political Economy

The Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies hosted the second instalment of its Max Planck Summer School for Women in Political Economy from September 22 to 25 this year. The event was attended by twenty-seven female early-career researchers from Europe, North America, and Asia, who came together in Cologne to discuss current debates in the field and to establish professional networks. Cornelia Woll, President of the Hertie School, gave the opening lecture, “Economic Statecraft and Negotiated Justice in Global Markets.” The four-day Summer School program combined four focus themes – geoeconomics, climate politics, financialization, and the political economy of development — with practical career and skills development sessions. These included work-in-progress sessions, at which participants could present their own research and receive feedback from established scholars, and professionalization workshops on publication strategies, grant applications, and career paths in academia and policy. In a Zoom roundtable on “Women in Political Economy,” leading international scholars Kathleen Thelen (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Dorothee Bohle (University of Vienna), Elsa Massoc (University of St. Gallen), and Manuela Moschella (University of Bologna) shared their experiences of what still remains a male-dominated field. Building on the successful inaugural event in 2023, the Summer School aims to promote women in political economy and their more equal participation in the field long term. The event was organized by MPIfG senior researchers Pálma Polyák and Dustin Voss.