Advancing arguments on technology, work and the body, in the global political economy

Abstract

Developing a better understanding of transformations and configurations in global affairs requires researchers in global political economy to take seriously the emergence of forms of technology and their integration into the institutional, social, economic and political fabrics of contemporary life. However, research in key global political economy journals has not been entirely forthcoming in acknowledging and recognising this, over time. Where we see publications that look at areas of technology and the global political economy, what has been consistently missing in global political economy research, however, is the discussion of the direct impact of technology on workers, working conditions, the employment relationship, and social protections, and, as an arguably direct result of digitalisation, new threats for the corporeal and for sustainability of materiality. This debates and commentary piece for the first issue of the Global Political Economy journal argues that the burgeoning literature in these areas can be carried forward by scholars in the field of global political economy.