G14 - New Approaches in Critical Political Economy
Date: Jun 13 | Time: 03:30pm to 05:00pm | Location: Zoom (see details/voir détails)
Chair/Président/Présidente : Devin Penner (Trent University)
Discussant/Commentateur/Commentatrice : Devin Penner (Trent University)
Zoom Meeting Link | Meeting ID : 972 6635 8501 | Password: 563374
The Political Economy of Emotion: Unpacking the Affective Dynamics of Mental Health: A.T. Kingsmith (OCAD University)
Abstract: Recent reports from the UN and WHO have called for global reform in mental health treatment practices, which often fail to address the operations of power and inequality in mental health care settings. Amidst this re-evaluation of mental health diagnostics, my paper explores the potentials of an Affective Political Economy (APE) approach – a novel analytical lens for diagnosing and understanding mental health challenges within the ambit of socio-economic and political determinants. Challenging the current biomedical model’s isolation of mental health from its societal context, APE posits that psychological distress is not merely an individual malfunction, but a manifestation of systemic socio-economic conditions perpetuated by a neoliberal ‘structure of feeling’ and its commensurate norms and ideologies.
The inquiry employs a multi-layered method of analysis, drawing on ‘affective economics,’ critical political economy, and psychoanalysis to deconstruct the social and technical configurations of neoliberalism that shape emotional states. In doing so, it critiques the dominant narrative of personal responsibility for one’s well-being, instead highlighting how broader forces of inequality and political disempowerment underlie mental health issues. Juxtaposing the APE framework against the prevailing biomedical emphasis on productivity and self-optimization, the paper advances theoretical discussions on the material underpinnings of widespread anxiety and depression. By re-framing these mental health challenges as materially and historically situated, it underscores the theoretical significance of considering emotional states as intertwined with economic and social structures, offering insights that call for a more holistic policy approach to mental health that is sensitive to everyday political and economic realities.
Rethinking Equal Footing in Global Digital Tax Governance: Badriyya Yusuf (Queen's University)
Abstract: In line with the conference theme of approaches, knowledges, and methods for the world tomorrow, this paper challenges conventional boundaries in the field of political science. Using an agential constructivist theoretical lens, a framework which breaks free from orthodox international relation theories, the paper explores contestations, debates, and developments in addressing contemporary challenges of taxation in a digital global economy. The paper presents findings from recently conducted research examining significant shifts, the growing influence, and participation of the Global South in international tax, an arena which has traditionally been described as “an entrenched political space” where privileged positions are maintained by dominating the debate and decision-making procedures. The paper traces how Resolution 77/244 for the promotion of inclusive and effective international tax cooperation at the United Nations was adopted by the General Assembly on 30 December 2022. Support for the resolution was galvanized by the 54 member-country African Group at the UN. The resolution grants the UN a mandate to begin intergovernmental talks on taxation and the creation of new global tax frameworks and institutions. The resolution follows a highly contested but historic global tax agreement brokered by the OECD and G20 countries in October 2021, prior to which international tax rules had largely remained unchanged for over five decades.