Essential Background and Interests

Jeffrey Harrod graduated in law from University College, University of London followed by a Masters in International Relations at Lehigh University, USA and then a PhD in political science from the University of Geneva, Switzerland. He is Professor Emeritus from the International Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University and Visiting Professor at University of Amsterdam where he has been for 15 years as an External staff member.  

He has been a full time economic journalist, the organizer of a research and presentation consultancy and through that he was permanent consultant for research and publications with an international trade union.

From within international political economy he researched and wrote about trade unions, labour and work. The bulk of his publications have been in this field.

More recently he has focused on the multinational corporation as the most important private authority in international relations and political economy.

His general concern is the analysis of the nature, dynamics and outcomes of power at the international level. Currently this involved multinational corporations, banks, and their associated global elites.

In the last two years he has concentrated on launching online personal lectures and material as teaching aids and a counter-balance to the narrow and conservative perceptions of power in contemporary discourses.

His 16 lecture course “Global Political Economy: How the World Works” can be found at  http://www.jeffreyharrod.eu/avcourse    His non-academic essays and tracts can be found at http://www.jeffreyharrod.blogspot.com

Full details of his professional career and publications can be found at his website  http://www.jeffreyharrod.eu

Current and Past Teaching Experience

Jeffrey Harrod has taught courses on international political economy, international organization, comparative politics and labour relations at the University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, University of West Indies Jamaica, University College London, London, Institute of Social Studies , The Hague and the University of Amsterdam.

At the University of Amsterdam he taught the Masters Level course Advanced international Political Economy in the International Relations programme for more than a decade. In  2012 he provided a course on the political economy of trade an investment as controlled by corporations  - “The Politics of Corporate Investment, Trade and Global Governance”. Although this was the most popular elective in that year the University has decided that it should not be offered in 2013-2014.

His Research project “Global Politics: power and Politics at the sub-state level” has been offered for 8  years and there are now more than 60 thesis from students who have graduated from the Research Project. The thesis are mainly available at UvA DARE and are used as teaching material.  For 2013-14 this Research Project has been revised and retitled as ”The Political Economy of Investment and Trade: the global politics of corporate sectors “