Welcome events for the School of Economics, Politics and IR

Here are some suggestions from our staff members if you're looking for something to read. Not all these books are about economics proper, but they can be useful in providing perspective into how economics, social sciences, and scientific approaches in general can be useful for understanding the world.

In no way are we expecting that you read all (or any) of this before September. This might be something you explore as part of your time here, as you build your own understanding and opinion of how economics is useful in understanding the world.  

The key takeaway is: there is a vast world of ideas out there. So, here are a few things you can read to get you in the right frame of mind, just before starting your studies at university! 

• "Narrative Economics: How Stories Go Viral and Drive Major Economic Events" by Robert Shiller By the Nobel Prize winner R. Shiller. In modern times important economic events are shaped by popular narratives, either right or wrong and often deliberately misleading. The book focuses on the need to study these, in order to better predict economic events.
• "The Nutmeg's Curse: Parables for a Planet in Crisis" by Amitav Ghosh A non-fiction book which delivers a brilliant enmeshing of colonialism and environmental issues. Very topical, needless to say! 
• "The Invisible Heart: Economics and Family Values" by Nancy Folbre Not a new book, but interesting, and a very good example of the breadth of applicability of economic analysis. 
• "The Curse of Bigness: Antitrust in the New Gilded Age" by Tim Wu A short monograph from a Law professor (who writes very well), particularly of interest to anyone interested in law & economics or pursuing a law conversion after their studies. Implicitly, it shows how economics training can be put to excellent use in the field of law.

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• "The Race between Education and Technology" by Claudia Goldin and Lawrence Katz A book that emphasizes the drivers of rising income and income inequality. Still incredibly relevant in this age of AI, with all the questions about how this will affect the value of a degree. 
• "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner Why? Because this book really convinces you that Economics is at the core of everything. 
• "The People Vs Tech: How the internet is killing democracy (and how we save it)" by Jamie Barlett From identity to advertising, from political economy to information warfare, thought provoking and full of economics ideas. 
• "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis This is a good read about the 2008 financial crisis. As stated on the back-cover of the book: From the jungles of the trading floor to the casinos of Las Vegas, The Big Short, tells the story of the misfits, renegades and visionaries who saw that the biggest credit bubble of all time was about to burst, bet against the banking system - and made a killing. 
• "The Signal and the Noise: Why Most Predictions Fail – but Some Don't" by Nate Silver A great book about the do's and don'ts of forecasting, delving into the the reason why some forecasting approaches are more effective than others, from baseball to politics. A great introduction to how forecasting should be done. 
• If you are confident in your maths ability and interested in getting a head start, then we recommend the following book "Fundamental Methods of Mathematical Economics" by Alpha C. Chiang. 

Roots of Contemporary Politics

Explore the foundations of the modern international order through three interconnected themes: the state, empire, and order. We focus on both key events in international history and key authors.

Recommended Books

• The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers — Paul Kennedy
• Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning — Nigel Biggar
• Empireland: How Imperialism Has Shaped Modern Britain — Sathnam Sanghera
• Empireworld: How British Imperialism Has Shaped the Globe — Sathnam Sanghera
• Political Order and Political Decay — Francis Fukuyama

Making Sense of Politics

What is politics anyways? And is everything political? Where does politics begin? Where does it end?

Recommended Books

• Supremacy: AI, ChatGPT and the Race That Will Change the World — Parmy Olson
• Strangers in Their Own Land — Arlie Russell Hochschild
• Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism — Anne Applebaum
• How America Works... and Why It Doesn't — William Cooper
• How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them — Jason Stanley
• The Origins of Totalitarianism — Hannah Arendt

Notes

• The Decline and Rise of Democracy — David Stasavage
  Provides a deep and thought-provoking analysis of why democracy emerged and why it is stronger in some regions than others. A central argument is that strong centralised bureaucracies often impeded democratic development, while less centralised European states created more favourable conditions for democracy.
• Too Much and Never Enough — Mary L. Trump
  A psychological and personal account of Donald Trump by his niece, offering insight into his personality and presidency.

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States and the World

Examines why states behave as they do, how world orders emerge and change, and whether cooperation or conflict is more likely.

Books

• Chokepoints — Edward Fishman
• Bananas, Beaches and Bases — Cynthia Enloe
• A World Safe for Democracy — G. John Ikenberry
• White World Order, Black Power Politics — Robert Vitalis
• Man, the State, and War — Kenneth N. Waltz
• How Democracies Die — Steven Levitsky & Daniel Ziblatt
• If Russia Wins — Carlo Masala
• The Nuclear Age — Serhii Plokhy

Podcasts: Pod Save the World; Ones & Tooze; The Independent Thinking; The President's Inbox (CFR)

Understanding Change in British Politics

Explores how Britain's political system has evolved and the challenges it faces today.

Books

• How Westminster Works — Ian Dunt
• Ungovernable — Simon Hart
• The Prime Ministers We Never Had — Steve Richards
• Politics on the Edge — Rory Stewart
• Why We Get the Wrong Politicians — Isabel Hardman
• Natives — Akala
• The Secret Barrister — The Secret Barrister
• Chavs — Owen Jones

War, Violence and Peace

Explores the causes, nature, and consequences of conflict.

Books

• Neoclassical Realism, the State, and Foreign Policy — Lobell, Ripsman & Taliaferro
• Statecraft — Jack Watling
• Drone Theory — Grégoire Chamayou
• In a Time of Monsters — Emma Sky
• War — Margaret MacMillan
• Dispatches — Michael Herr
• Prisoners of Geography — Tim Marshall
• What Is War For? — Jack McDonald
• Superior — Angela Saini

Podcast: The Rest Is Classified

The Power of Political Ideas

Introduces key ideas about freedom, justice, power, equality, identity, and rights.

Books

• Eichmann in Jerusalem — Hannah Arendt
• Mistaken Identity — Asad Haider
• The Wretched of the Earth — Frantz Fanon
• Pedagogy of the Oppressed — Paulo Freire
• Vulture Capitalism — Grace Blakeley
• The Righteous Mind — Jonathan Haidt
• Educated — Tara Westover
• Empire of AI — Karen Hao