Hosted in collaboration with the Department of Sociology, the Research on Global Governance Network (RiGG-Net), and the Centre for Law, Regulation and Governance of the Global Economy (GLOBE).

Abstract

The Circular Economy package proposed by the incoming Juncker Commission in 2015, and withdrawing an earlier, seemingly more ambitious Action Plan of the previous Commission, is frequently portrayed as a formidable example of policy dismantling and industry co-optation. Yet we have also seen visible and decisive policy action in the form of banning single-use plastics products, with policymakers thus opting for the most stringent instrument (restriction) available in the toolbox of the Circular Economy policy arsenal. In her talk, Sandra Eckert will elaborate on power struggles in the transformative process towards a Circular Economy in the European Union (EU). More specifically, she will examine the role of diffuse and corporate interests in influencing the emerging political agenda seeking to tackle the environmental issues posed by plastics products and waste. She will present key findings discussed in her recently published book on Corporate Power and Regulation. Consumers and the Environment in the European Union (Palgrave 2019).

About the Speaker:
Sandra Eckert is Associate Professor for Politics in the European Multilevel System at Goethe University Frankfurt / Main. She is currently holding a research fellowship at the Aarhus Institute for Advanced Studies (AIAS). During the winter term 2019/2020 she is also invited guest professor at Sciences Po Lyon. Sandra previously held positions at the Universities of Berlin, Darmstadt, Mannheim, Osnabrück and at the Robert Schuman Centre of the European University Institute in Florence. She received her PhD in political science from Free University Berlin. In her research, Sandra studies issues related to European integration, comparative public policy and international political economy.

For more information, see: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/sociology/research/currentresearch/toxicexpertise/eventsandconferences