Billionaires in world politics / Peter Hägel.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hägel, Peter, author.

Series:

Oxford scholarship online.

Oxford scholarship online

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Billionaires--Political activity.

Billionaires.

Power (Social sciences)--Political aspects.

Power (Social sciences).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (368 pages) : illustrations (some colour).

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Oxford, England : Oxford University Press, [2020]

Summary:

'Billionaires in World Politics' shows how the privatisation of politics assumes a new dimension when billionaires wield power in world politics, which requires a re-thinking of individual agency in International Relations. Structural changes (globalisation, neoliberalism, competition states, and global governance) have generated new opportunities for individuals to become extremely rich and to engage in politics across borders. The political agency of billionaires is being conceptualised in terms of capacities, goals, and power, which is contingent upon the specific political field a billionaire is trying to enter. Six case studies explore the power of billionaires in their pursuit of security, wealth, and esteem.

Contents:

Cover

Billionaires in World Politics

Copyright

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Contents

List of Figures and Tables

List of Abbreviations

1: Introduction

Delineating "Billionaires as Transnational Actors in World Politics"

Outline of the Book

2: Individuals in International Relations

Reasons for the Disregard of Individuals in IR

Individuals in Recent IR Scholarship

Taking Individuals Seriously: James Rosenau's IR Theorizing

Analyzing Varieties of Agency

Agency and Power

Structural Power?

3: The Structural Context for Billionaires

Material Changes: Globalization and Peace

Ideational Changes: The Rise of Neoliberalism

Institutional Changes: The Competition State and Global Governance

4: The Political Agency of Billionaires

Capacities: Capital and Entrepreneurship

Goals: Security, Wealth, and Esteem

Power: Individual Freedom and Its Limits

5: Security

Electioneering Security: Sheldon Adelson and Israel-Palestine

Funding Insurgency? Raj Rajaratnam and the Tamil Tigers

6: Economy

Protecting Fossil Fuels: The Koch Brothers and Climate Change

Valorizing Conservatism: Rupert Murdoch's Opinion-Shaping

7: Social Entrepreneurship

Fighting Diseases: Bill Gates and Global Health Governance

Building Open Societies: George Soros as "Stateless Statesman"

8: Analytical Conclusion

Billionaires as "Super-Actors" or a Global "Super-Class"?

Individual Agency within the International System

Global Oligarchy and Democracy

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

This edition previously issued in print: 2020.

Includes bibliographical references (pages [271]-334) and index.

Description based on print version record.

Other Format:

Print version:

ISBN:

0-19-259416-8

0-19-259415-X

0-19-188707-2

OCLC:

1239561909