How do neoliberal think tanks work? When do they disagree with each other? What do they do to influence government policy and public debate? How did they respond to the crisis of COVID-19 and state intervention that came with it?
Nina Lotze is a Associate Lecturer in the UCL Department of Political Science. She joins Josh White to talk about her article 'Strategies of neoliberal knowledge production: how did free-market think tanks react to the COVID-19 pandemic?' (2026) published in New Political Economy journal. They discuss the similarities and differences between neoliberal think tanks in the UK and Germany respectively; why they supported the first wave of lockdowns but not the second; networking as the basis of political power (including the dinners they organise and they pubs they drink in); and why its not quite right to talk about global neoliberal conspiracy.
'New Thinking in Political Economy' is a monthly podcast showcasing cutting-edge political economy research that helps us to understand the world around us.
This episode is produced by Chris Saltmarsh and Josh White. This episode was edited by Josh White with support from Chris Saltmarsh. Music and audio by Andy_Gambino. Hosted on Acast. See https://acast.com/privacy for more information.
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