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Basak Kus

@basakkus.bsky.social
2.8K followers 1.1K following 58 posts

Professor of Government and Environmental Studies at Wesleyan. OUP author. SER editor. Writes about political economy, public policy, state, finance, climate, American politics. Lives in New Haven and NYC. Daydreams about Mediterranean 🐟☀️🌊 🧿 basakkus.net

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Reposted by Basak Kus
Albert Pinto @70sbachchan.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
NEW: The big story is not Chinese EVs everywhere —but Chinese EV factories everywhere. And its not just Chinese firms going out. Our CM-FDI database tracks every foreign Solar, Wind, EV and battery manufacturing plant built in 21st century. cmfdi.netzeropolicylab.com
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Basak Kus @basakkus.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
academic.oup.com/ser/advance-... New article out! "From carbon pricing to green industrial policy: new moment, old dilemmas, and divergent pathways."
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Basak Kus @basakkus.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Bu yazıyı çok severek yazdım, cok da önemsediğim bir konu. @t24.com.tr teşekkürler yayınladığınız için. t24.com.tr/yazarlar/bas...
t24.com.tr
Başak Kuş | Taylor Swift'e bile kalmadı kıyılar!
İnsanların denizle ilişkisi, bugünkü otellerden, plaj işletmelerinden ve idari düzenlemelerden çok daha eskidir. Balıkçıların teknelerini kıyıya çekmesi, çocukl
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Basak Kus @basakkus.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Thank you @lawandhistrev.bsky.social for giving my article a home and for the thorough review and feedback!
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Basak Kus @basakkus.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Her article examines “how and why custom was declared dead in America while also advocating for its revival.” It includes an interesting anecdote about Taylor Swift’s attempt to enclose the beach around her holiday house in Rhode Island. A must read!
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Basak Kus @basakkus.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
As I was doing the final revisions, I came across a fascinating analysis by legal scholar @marciazug.bsky.social published in the Harvard Environmental Law Review: “In My Defense, I Have None”: Taylor Swift, Indian Law, and a Re-Examination of Custom’s Inapplicability in the United States.
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Basak Kus @basakkus.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Hartog’s New York case exposes that courts did not simply prohibit customary practices but rendered the claims underlying them legally unintelligible.
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Basak Kus @basakkus.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Marx’s Prussian case reveals a direct subordination of the legislative apparatus to propertied interests. For Thompson, law is neither a neutral arbiter nor merely an instrument of ruling-class domination; it is constrained by its own claims to justice
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Basak Kus @basakkus.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
At the same time, these accounts also show that a broadly similar assault on customary claims took different forms across contexts.
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Basak Kus @basakkus.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
I discuss how practices long regarded as customary rights by the poor and unpropertied were reclassified as crimes and public nuisances in all three cases.
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Basak Kus @basakkus.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
So glad that this paper is finally out in the world. It puts Marx’s writings on the Prussian wood-theft debates into conversation with E. P. Thompson’s account of the English Black Act and Hartog’s discussion of pig keeping in 19th century NY. shorturl.at/sVwvJ @lawandhistrev.bsky.social
shorturl.at
Deer in England, Fallen Wood in Germany, Pigs in New York: – Law & History Review
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Law & History Review @lawandhistrev.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
New month, new article! The Law and History Review is excited to announce the publication of the next article in our digital imprint, The Docket. Wesleyan's Basak Kus (@basakkus.bsky.social) examines the history of customs, law, and poverty, and how contemporary case law echoes that history.
lawandhistoryreview.org
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Climate and Community Institute @cplusc.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Our Senior Fellow @moira.bsky.social recently appeared on @thedigradio.bsky.social to discuss how insurance companies profit off climate catastrophe. Listen to the full episode with @dwallacewells.bsky.social, @madisoncondon.bsky.social, and @astra.bsky.social: thedigradio.com/podcast/insu...
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Basak Kus @basakkus.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
@wesleyanuniversity.bsky.social
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Basak Kus @basakkus.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
@drodrik.bsky.social @julietschor.bsky.social @bhbradlow.bsky.social @triofrancos.bsky.social @70sbachchan.bsky.social @benbraun.eurosky.social @ndubash.bsky.social @kevinpgallagher.bsky.social @isabelestevez.bsky.social @davidthewid.bsky.social
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Basak Kus @basakkus.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
This November, I’ll have the honor of hosting the 2026 Shasha Seminar on The New Global Economic Order At Wesleyan. I can’t quite believe we’ve managed to bring all these brilliant minds together. I’ll share the website and registration details soon. For now, a little teaser!
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Basak Kus @basakkus.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
ICYMI, this is a very interesting read: www.firesidestacks.com/p/bernies-ai...
firesidestacks.com
How Bernie’s AI tax idea came to be (with Jeremy Bearer-Friend + Sarah Polcz)
Meet the experts who put AI public equity stakes on the map.
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Basak Kus @basakkus.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
If you are looking for a writing retreat, here is one I’m hosting in Turkey next June. Application open today. www.thelongtableretreat.com
thelongtableretreat.com
A Writing Retreat For Women In The Social Sciences And Humanities
A Writing Retreat For Women In The Social Sciences And Humanities
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Basak Kus @basakkus.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
And I am looking forward to working with her! @sasemeeting.bsky.social
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Reposted by Basak Kus
Scholars Strategy Network @scholars.org · 18/05/2026
Voluntary buyouts, a dominant tool in U.S. climate adaptation policy, typically happen only after a federally declared disaster. In this policy brief, @basakkus.bsky.social (Wesleyan University) calls for a shift to proactive, community-focused planning. Read: scholars.org/contribution...
“Climate adaptation policy must shift from property-based, reactive compensation toward a proactive, community-focused planning.”
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Basak Kus @basakkus.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
And here are the slides from Tim’s talk 👇
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Basak Kus @basakkus.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
@70sbachchan.bsky.social: this will likely trigger a permanent regime shift. Oil and gas are no longer reliably available when needed, at bearable prices. The geopolitical conditions that once stabilized them are gone. Electrification offers a structural exit from this system.
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Basak Kus @basakkus.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
This isn't just about gas prices- we are looking at physical shortage with second-order consequences most people don't see yet, Tim says: no gas means no fertilizer, no sulfuric acid means no mining, no cooking gas means governments possibly shutting down restaurants to prioritize households.
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Basak Kus @basakkus.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
@70sbachchan.bsky.social: energy shocks are geopolitical in origin AND they cascade. They amplify nonlinearly, triggering economic crises, political instability, and social shockwaves.
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Basak Kus @basakkus.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
What a day! @triofrancos.bsky.social, @aldasky.bsky.social and @70sbachchan.bsky.social came to Wesleyan University and blew our minds. Watching people operate with that much rigor and generosity- is genuinely restorative. Makes you want to go back to the desk and do better work. Thank you!
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Reposted by Basak Kus
Justin Wolfers @justinwolfers.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
The reason it feels hard to get ahead right now is because it's hard to get ahead right now. Wages are barely keeping up with prices, and prices are just starting to heat up.
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Basak Kus @basakkus.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
My colleague Mitali Thakor, @70sbachchan.bsky.social, and I wrote a piece reflecting on our visit to CDMX. coexist.blogs.wesleyan.edu/2026/04/02/c... We discuss the Utopias initiative led by Mayor Brugada, Rafael Cauduro’s murals, and our convo with technology scholar Paola Ricaurte Quijano.
coexist.blogs.wesleyan.edu
CDMX: Dignity and Possible Futures – coexist
by Basak Kus, Tim Sahay & Mitali Thakor As part of our Bailey COE Think Tank’s ongoing work on disruption and futures that feel increasingly unpredictable, and more dystopian than hopeful, we (Basak Kus, Mitali Thakor, and Tim Sahay) headed to Mexico for a three-day excursion. The trip was short and intentionally dense. Curated by…
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Albert Pinto @70sbachchan.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
Feel the disruptions in empire, economics, ecology? Join @triofrancos.bsky.social & I & @basakkus.bsky.social at Wesleyan University Extraction: the frontiers of green capitalism www.theariofrancos.com/extraction Iran War & the dawn of the Electric World Order thepolycrisis.org/electric-wor...
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Daniel Driscoll @danieldrisc.com · 05/02/2026
🚨New piece in Politics & Society! w/ @maxkiefel.bsky.social @mathiaslarsen.bsky.social Internationalizing Industrial Policy: How China and the United States Use State Capacity to Secure Critical Minerals for Electric Vehicles 🇨🇳 🇺🇸 doi.org/10.1177/0032...
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Albert Pinto @70sbachchan.bsky.social · 14/12/2025
US bet: Ai, China bet: Green “In 2024, the country invested an estimated $940bn in clean-energy capex, broadly defined as renewables, electricity grids and energy storage (batteries), dwarfing its AI investments” ft.com/content/1258... Presented basically this argmnt last wk @basakkus.bsky.social
ft.com
Could America win the AI race but lose the war?
The US has gone all-in on artificial intelligence. But the idea of an end-of-times battle with China over tomorrow’s key technology is part delusion, part lobbying tool for Silicon Valley
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Basak Kus @basakkus.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
Intereconomics has a forum on "Frontiers of Growth" in their last issue and I have a piece in it: "rom Kuznets to Daly: Growth, Social Justice and the State in the Age of Climate Crisis." www.intereconomics.eu/contents/yea...
intereconomics.eu
From Kuznets to Daly: Growth, Social Justice and the State in the Age of Climate Crisis
Intereconomics is an academic journal that publishes articles by experts on current economic and social policy issues affecting Europe.
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Reposted by Basak Kus
Jonathan Hopkin @jonathanhopkin.eurosky.social · 18/10/2025
It’s been 20 years and, as always happens, people have forgotten again that financial markets are inherently prone to collapse. It looks superficially different every time so we can con ourselves into believing otherwise
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Basak Kus @basakkus.bsky.social · 14/10/2025
I finally got around to reading @jonasmeckling.bsky.social's Nature article "The geoeconomic turn in decarbonization" and it is a must read! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Client Challenge
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Phenomenal World @phenomenalworld.bsky.social · 20/09/2025
“Chinese overseas FDI is nearing $100 billion per year. The Marshall Plan was $200b—and locked Europe into US tech and standards. When we see sums of this size, we can ask whether it will have a similar effect on the globe.” NEW: @70sbachchan.bsky.social & @mathiaslarsen.bsky.social on the BRI 2.0
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Basak Kus @basakkus.bsky.social · 22/08/2025
This year, the College of the Environment think tank at Wes will focus on “Risk and Uncertain Futures: Responding to Global Disruptions.” We've exciting events in the works and are thrilled to welcome Tim Sahay as our distinguished fellow! @70sbachchan.bsky.social @wesleyanuniversity.bsky.social
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Nils Kupzok @nilskupzok.bsky.social · 07/08/2025
We're now inviting proposals for the New Thinking in Industrial Policy Conference, November 6–7, 2025, at Columbia University! It is a great opportunity to present and discuss the latest research on industrial policy across the social sciences.
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Basak Kus @basakkus.bsky.social · 05/08/2025
Hello folks, we are hiring in the area of global justice (potential research areas include human rights, international inequality, migration, global health, the environment, international law, or the erosion of democracy). Here is the ad: wesleyan.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/career...
wesleyan.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com
Assistant Professor of Government
Wesleyan University Rank: Assistant Professor Subfield(s): Open Wesleyan University's Department of Government invites applicants for a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Government beginning July 1,...
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Roosevelt Institute @rooseveltinstitute.org · 01/08/2025
A new blog post by Director of Industrial Policy and Trade @toddntucker.com breaks down what’s really at stake from the tariff court hearing—and why the outcome could shape economic policymaking for years. Read more 📄 rooseveltinstitute.org/blog/c...
rooseveltinstitute.org
In Constitutional Clash Between Trump and Courts on Tariffs, Risks Ahead for Progressive Policies - Roosevelt Institute
Today, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit heard oral arguments in two lawsuits brought against the Trump administration’s chaotic deployment of tariffs. To some observers, these cases may seem like arcane, boring trade law in a federal court that few have heard of. To others, the lawsuits represent an opportunity to resist Trump and fight his overreach on tariff hikes that are already starting to pinch consumers’ wallets. But it’s important to step back and look at some less obvious stakes in these disputes: Namely, what kind of powers do or should presidents have in the future to deal with economic emergencies?
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Albert Pinto @70sbachchan.bsky.social · 05/07/2025
“The postwar order rested on three pillars: American hegemony, the fossil-fuel energy system, and an open, multilateral trading order. America has now attacked each pillar at the foundation of its hydrocarbon global order.” — New: @katemac.bsky.social & I www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/bri...
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Basak Kus @basakkus.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
My brilliant colleague and friend Sonali Chakravarti (who's not here) wrote about I'm Still Here. It's a lovely piece. @publicseminar.bsky.social publicseminar.org/2025/04/im-s...
publicseminar.org
In I’m Still Here, a Mother Refuses to Let a Dictatorship Rewrite Reality - Public Seminar
Sonali Chakravarti reviews I'M STILL HERE, and discusses the importance of fighting for a full life under fascism.
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Basak Kus @basakkus.bsky.social · 08/04/2025
Just as welfare states can be categorized by their various functions—how much they decommodify, how much they equalize, the source of provision, and whom they primarily benefit—green states can also be conceptualized and categorized by the roles they play and how those roles are structured.
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Basak Kus @basakkus.bsky.social · 08/04/2025
How to think about the green state? "Just as the welfare state was a political response to protect the social body from the risks and fluctuations of market-based economic systems, green states are a political response to shield against the many changes and disruptions caused by climate change...
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Basak Kus @basakkus.bsky.social · 08/04/2025
We argue that "fully addressing the transformative challenges brought up by climate change requires a fundamental rethinking of core PE concepts related to the state, distributional struggles, economic growth, varieties of capitalism, and markets."
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Basak Kus @basakkus.bsky.social · 08/04/2025
Full special issue out today: Greening the Economy: Toward a New Political Economy: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/17485991... See the open access article by GJ and yours truly: "Green Transitions: Rethinking Political Economy in the Context of Climate Change": onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Green Transitions: Rethinking Political Economy in the Context of Climate Change
Although political economy (PE) has long engaged with environmental issues, climate change has remained at the margins of the field until very recently. This article argues that fully addressing the ....
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Regulation & Governance @reggovjournal.bsky.social · 08/04/2025
#Specialissue #Greentransitions #Politicaleconomy 'Green Transitions: Rethinking Political Economy in the Context of Climate Change' by @basakkus.bsky.social & Gregory Jackson See special issue introduction 👇 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
ABSTRACT
Although political economy (PE) has long engaged with environmental issues, climate change has remained at the margins of the field until very recently. This article argues that fully addressing the transformative challenges brought up by climate change requires a fundamental rethinking of core PE concepts related to the state, distributional struggles, economic growth, varieties of capitalism, and markets. Rather than treating the state as a neutral regulator or market facilitator, we conceptualize the green state as actively structuring transitions through mitigation policies, adaptation strategies, and the governance of just transition conflicts. Green transitions generate new distributional conflicts—within and across countries, between incumbent and emerging industries, and among social groups with unequal exposure to climate risks and transition costs. Climate policy also challenges growth-centered economic models, raising questions about the viability of green growth versus degrowth strategies. Different varieties of capitalism are evolving in response, with distinct institutional pathways shaping the speed and character of transition efforts. Finally, we critique market-based approaches that assume price mechanisms alone can drive decarbonization, highlighting the role of non-economic values, institutional constraints, and distributional struggles in shaping green markets. By linking climate change to core debates in comparative and international political economy, we identify new research agendas for understanding the uneven and contested pathways of green transitions across economic systems. This article, along with the others in this special issue on Greening the Economy: Toward a New Political Economy, aims to bridge some of these critical gaps.
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Basak Kus @basakkus.bsky.social · 06/03/2025
Ah! I forgot about THIS amazing paper by @trgn.bsky.social and Luuk Schmitz. You want to know what the divestments and losses involved with decarbonization mean for the regulatory state? Make sure to read it! @reggovjournal.bsky.social onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Picking Losers: Climate Change and Managed Decline in the European Union
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Basak Kus @basakkus.bsky.social · 05/03/2025
Isik Ozel on climate politics in Latin America: why is it that "Chile, once a laggard, emerged as a regional leader in climate policy in the early 2020s, while Mexico, a pioneer until the early 2010s, experienced a backlash and retreated"? onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Climate Politics in Latin America: The Cases of Chile and Mexico
This paper focuses on climate coalitions and commitments in the Global South by comparing the cases of two Latin American countries, Chile and Mexico. Chile, once a laggard, emerged as a regional lea...
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Basak Kus @basakkus.bsky.social · 05/03/2025
Check out these two wonderful papers! It’s not just about carbon in the West—what’s happening in other regions of the world? Renato Lima de Oliveira and Pieter Stek on carbon markets in Brazil, Indonesia, and Malaysia. @reggovjournal.bsky.social onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
The Development of Carbon Markets in Upper‐Middle‐Income Countries
Upper-middle-income economies face a specific set of trade-offs when reducing carbon emissions, which differ from the trade-offs faced in low- and high-income economies. To mobilize domestic funds, m...
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Basak Kus @basakkus.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
And Jens Beckert frames the climate crisis as a crisis of legitimation. He argues that the climate crisis and the politics of adaptation will be the defining issues in the coming decades, and social scientists must engage with these issues. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Climate Change and the Social Order
Despite decades of awareness, societies have failed to adequately respond to climate change, as evidenced by rising CO2 emissions and the continued dominance of fossil fuels in global energy consumpt...
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Basak Kus @basakkus.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
Kathryn Hochstetler focuses on green economy and the Global South: Are the promises of the green economy credible in the conditions of the Global South? Will the green economy reach the poorest populations of the Global South? onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
The Green Economy and the Global South
The idea of a “green economy” is one of the latest attempts to bridge the environment and development aims, with a focus on economic growth that makes it appealing to countries that still see a signi...
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