Uneven and Combined Development Working Group

The idea of Uneven and Combined Development (U&CD) originated in the writings of Leon Trotsky (1879-1940). Its most explicit formulation is found in the opening chapter of his History of the Russian Revolution (1932).  U&CD was introduced into the discipline of International Relations (IR) at  the 1995 Deutscher Memorial Lecture. It has now emerged as a new research programme in IR, becoming the subject of doctoral research projects, conference panels and journal forums. The largest concentration of researchers is in the International Relations Department at the University of Sussex, where a Working Group on the subject meets regularly. For further information contact Justin Rosenberg.

Political Marxism Research Group

Political Marxism (PM) developed as a reaction against ahistorical models of Marxist analysis in the debate on the transition from feudalism to capitalism. The critique of formalism returned social agency and class conflict to the center of Marxism. In this context, Robert Brenner and Ellen Wood articulated the foundations of PM as a distinct approach to rehistoricise and repoliticise the Marxist project. It provoked a turn away from structuralisms and teleology towards historical specificity as contested process and lived praxis. 

The aim of the research group at Sussex is to rearticulate the approach of political Marxism beyond the transition debate, using some of the key methodological and theoretical innovations of the first generation of political Marxist scholars in order to set the foundations for a broader agenda. In doing so, it seeks to place agency and historical specifity at the heart of Political Marxism and widen its possibilities as an analytical framework.  For further information contact Benno Teschke or Sam Knafo. 

International Political Theory Reading Group

Details to be posted soon, please contact Sophie Hurford at cait@sussex.ac.uk for information.