Headline: IASS Researcher Philipp Lepenies appointed to the Boards of the Forum Transregionale Studien and the Journal Leviathan

The economist Philipp Lepenies, a senior fellow at the IASS, has been appointed to the Academic Advisory Board of the Forum Transregionale Studien and the Editorial Board of the Berlin journal of social sciences Leviathan. In both functions he will profit from his experiences at the IASS, where he leads the ‘Economics and Culture’ research group. With its interdisciplinary approach, this group analyses the transformative power of economic ideas, with a particular focus on the history of ideas, alternative economic theories, the translation of economic models into politics, and concrete examples of sustainable business practice in the Global South. 2013 saw the publication of Lepenies’ book The Power of a Single Number. A Political History of GDP in which he describes how gross domestic product became the measure of a country’s wealth most favoured by politicians.

Explaining its choice, the Forum Transregionale Studien said that Lepenies, with his combination of interdisciplinary economic research and expertise on Asia and Latin America, straddles two areas that the Forum wishes to put higher on its research agenda in future. The Forum, which is funded by the German Ministry for Education and Research and the Berlin Senate, strives to internationalise the humanities and social sciences. It creates opportunities for researchers with different regional and disciplinary backgrounds to cooperate and makes it possible to test ideas and develop research projects. The Forum invites research fellows from around the world to conduct innovative and comparative research on different regions of the world, for example, in the context of its programmes ‘Europe in the Middle East – the Middle East in Europe’ and ‘Art Histories and Aesthetic Practices’. The Academic Advisory Board advises the Board of Directors on both academic matters and the Forum’s institutional development.

Leviathan is a peer-reviewed journal that publishes current research contributions and debates on politics, culture, economics, philosophy, law and society. It is aimed at a broad readership including the academic community, policymakers, public administrators and journalists. In keeping with its methodological, disciplinary and political pluralism, it attempts to close the gap between theory, empiricism and politics. Leviathan is published by the Berlin Social Science Center (WZB) in cooperation with the Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt University Berlin and the Hertie School of Governance.

As a member of both boards, Philipp Lepenies will be able to learn more about transdisciplinary methods and gain valuable insights for his own research area at the IASS and with a view to designing a new fellowship programme for the institute.

24.02.2015