Kasper Arabi

Hi! I study how everyday perceptions of the economy inform broader societal relations. I am generally interested in economic inequalities, state selectivities, international ordering, and business-government relations. Methodologically, my research has a strong cultural-historical dimension, and I am keen to explore questions typically considered the domain of political science using archival research methods with the aim of shedding new light on present-day developments. Put differently, I have developed a strong interest in researching everyday experiences with the economy through cultural-historical lenses in archival collections.

These themes came together in my doctoral thesis, which I successfully defended at the University of Warwick’s Department of Politics and International Studies in September 2026. My research focused on everyday perceptions of intra-state inequality and their relationship with the broader international system. Put briefly, I studied whether non-elite experiences of economic polarization within a hegemon inform its approach to international order. To explore this question, my research examined the hegemonic transition from Pax Britannica to Pax Americana, and I aimed to contribute to the literature on the outward effects of domestic intra-state dynamics, such as specific configurations of state selectivities and business-government-society relations, on hegemony and the stability of world order. The empirical side of my work was therefore heavily based on cultural-historical explorations of various archives in the U.S. and the U.K. Parts of my thesis have been published in the Review of International Studies and the Review of International Political Economy.

I am currently developing these lines of research further. This includes the use of history in policymaking processes and the everyday underpinnings of national growth models.

Feel free to reach out to me at kasper.arabi@warwick.ac.uk.