Law, Politics and Economics

Researchers

Group

Analysis of foreing policies en East Asia

This line of research analyses the main dynamics, agents and changes that have taken place in the foreign policies of the two great powers of the region: the People's Republic of China and Japan. For the former, it studies how the change in China's status affects some state actors including the European Union, the United States, Russia and Japan, and its impact on the major international organizations (the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the World Health Organization, etc.). It also focuses on the issue of how China views the current norms of the international system: from the perspective of a normative change, or based on clashing with those norms.

International relations theory

This line of research addresses, on the one hand, some fundamental aspects of Western theory and the main paradigms of international relations (realism, liberalism and constructivism), and, on the other hand, it seeks to challenge the traditional vision of the three aforementioned paradigms. It also addresses topics such as critical theory, post-structuralism, feminism, the sociology of power (or the DAP perspective) and non-Western theories that have emerged in this discipline in recent years.

Dr Lluc Vidal López

Email: lluc.vidal@uoc.edu

Dr Guillem Farrés Fernández

Asia-Pacific international relations

Analysis of the main dynamics in both cooperation and conflict in the Asia-Pacific region. Among other issues linked to this topic, the paradigm shift from "the rise of China" to "China risen" is analysed. This rise of the People's Republic of China has an impact on the balance of power in the international system, the norms and rules of the international system, and international institutions. 

Economic effects of digital transformation

Analysis of the economic effects (productivity, competitiveness, development, employment, inequality and sustainability) of digital transformation (robotics, artificial intelligence, industry 4.0, date-driven economy, gig economy, MANBRIC technologies) at aggregate, sectoral and regional level.

Strategic litigation in the context of the impact of climate change on human rights

This research project focuses on analysing litigation against states, private or state-owned companies for their contribution to climate change and its impacts on human rights. Such litigation seeks to promote the protection of human rights beyond the parties involved in a particular legal proceeding, whether domestic or international, to bring about broader change in the international community.

New technologies and human rights

This research project analyses the impact of new technologies (AI, data protection, biotechnology, etc.) on the enjoyment of human rights, as well as the resulting normative challenges for the international community.

The relationship between development and international protection of intellectual property rights

Since the end of the 20th century, the international intellectual property regime has gained decisive momentum with the adoption of the World Trade Organisation's Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights. This proposal is to analyse the relationship between this regime and sustainable development goals.

The physical presence crisis in taxation

One of the main criteria for the exercise of taxing power of most states and jurisdictions is the primary physical presence in the territory concerned. However, the classical design was not intended to cover the absence of geographical constraints made possible by current technology which, together with the possibilities offered by today's interconnections, have given rise to increasing globalization, in turn paving the way for a new scenario that poses unprecedented problems and challenges of worldwide scope.

Urban and housing political economy

This thesis proposal addresses the social relations and processes created by urban space and the metabolism of cities. It investigates the ways in which the reproduction of capital and social reproduction are intertwined and come into conflict within the framework of urban transformations. We welcome proposals that address the housing issue, the links between urban development and ecology, socio-territorial inequalities and the changes in economic and property structures that make up an increasingly urban world.

Dr Lorenzo Vidal

Email: lvidal_folchd@uoc.edu

Critical international relations: theory and practice

This line of research is for PhD candidates interested in contributing to contemporary critical theoretical debates in the broad discipline of international relations and in practices that seek to question and erode the fundaments of current world politics, based on exclusions, violence and relations of subjugation.

Dr Ignasi Torrent Oliva

Email: itorrento@uoc.edu

Analysis and resolution of international conflicts

An analysis of international conflicts (especially in the Middle East and Africa), proposals for possible resolutions, and/or the development of theoretical tools to improve these analyses. Authors such as Bichler and Nitzan (with energy conflicts, among others), Barak and Shefer (with security networks), concepts such as the military-industrial complex and theoretical approaches such as the Sociology of Power (or the DAP perspective) identify parties that benefit from armed conflicts, who could be considered promoters of conflicts. Together with critical security studies, these authors and theoretical approaches provide us with theoretical tools that are particularly useful for analysing specific cases of conflict and identifying their causes in order to propose measures for resolution (or prevention) and move towards new models of collective security.

Dr Guillem Farrés Fernández