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Nick Bernards

Assistant Professor of Global Sustainable Development, University of Warwick
My current research looks at the intersections of global financial markets with changing patterns of work and social protection, primarily in the global south. I have published on the development of new forms of financial products targeting precarious or informal workers, including microinsurance and 'alternative' forms of credit data. I am also beginning research on the ways in which financial markets in the global south have been shaped by longer colonial histories, and how this has impacted on the uneven development of contemporary finance. I am also currently director of the Africa Research Network at Warwick.

Prior to starting at Warwick in 2017, I held a Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Department of Political Studies at Queen's University, Canada, funded by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada. I completed a PhD in International Relations at McMaster University in 2016.

My recent book, The Global Governance of Precarity (Routledge, 2018), examines the governance of irregular forms of labour in sub-Saharan Africa through a historical study of the activities of the International Labour Organization. I draw together analyses of ILO policy towards forced labour, unemployment, and social protection for irregular workers in sub-Saharan Africa from 1919-present. The project draws on archival research conducted primarily at ILO headquarters in Geneva, extensive documentary research, as well as interviews with key ILO staff across these issue areas in Geneva and at field offices in Pretoria and Dakar.

Climate Change Series

Climate change: why government failure to act isn't the problem

Aug 22, 2021 01:09 am UTC| Nature Politics

The recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report underscored the dire state of the climate crisis, concluding that immediate, rapid and large-scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are needed to...

Economy

The US is one of the least trade-oriented countries in the world – despite laying the groundwork for today’s globalized system

Given the spate of news about international trade lately, Americans might be surprised to learn that the U.S. isnt very dependent on it. Indeed, looking at trade as a percentage of gross domestic product a metric...

Beyond the spin, beyond the handouts, here’s how to get a handle on what’s really happening on budget night

Three weeks from now, some of us will be presented with a mountain of budget papers, and just about all of us will get to hear about them on radio, TV or news websites on budget night. The quickest way to find out what...

Johannesburg in a time of darkness: Ivan Vladislavić’s new memoir reminds us of the city’s fragility

Ivan Vladislavić is Johannesburgs literary linkman. He tells us, in the first pages of his new book, The Near North, that before cities were lit, first by gaslight and later electricity, people of means paid torchbearers...

Economist Chris Richardson on an ‘ugly’ inflation result and the coming budget

With Jim Chalmerss third budget on May 14, Australians will be looking for some more cost-of-living relief beyond the tax cuts although they have been warned extra measures will be modest. As this weeks consumer price...

Inflation is slowly falling, while student debt is climbing: 6 graphs that explain today’s CPI

Australias inflation rate has fallen for the fifth successive quarter, and its now less than half of what it was back in late 2022. The annual rate peaked at 7.8% in the December quarter of 2022 and is now just 3.6%, in...

Politics

US Urges China, Russia to Reject AI Control in Nuclear Arms, Align with Global Norms

Paul Dean, a senior U.S. arms control official, emphasized the critical need for China and Russia to join the U.S. in declaring that humans will always decide on the deployment of nuclear weapons, not artificial...

South Africa’s youth are a generation lost under democracy – study

South African president Cyril Ramaphosa recently painted a rosy picture in which the countrys youth democracys children had enormous opportunities for advancement, all thanks to successive post-apartheid governments led...

Sadiq Khan on track for third term as London mayor – but nearly half of Londoners dissatisfied with performance

Polls have consistently shown that the incumbent mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, appears to be on track to win a third term in office at the upcoming mayoral elections on May 2. One poll we commissioned as part of our...

Biden administration tells employers to stop shackling workers with ‘noncompete agreements’

Most American workers are hired at will: Employers owe their employees nothing in the relationship except earned wages, and employees are at liberty to quit at their option. As the rule is generally stated, either party...

Labour can afford to be far more ambitious with its economic policies – voters are on board

To say that the Labour party is flying high in the polls is something of an understatement. But despite its consistent lead against the Tories, the opposition finds itself in a rather odd position: on the cusp of power but...

Science

IceCube researchers detect a rare type of energetic neutrino sent from powerful astronomical objects

About a trillion tiny particles called neutrinos pass through you every second. Created during the Big Bang, these relic neutrinos exist throughout the entire universe, but they cant harm you. In fact, only one of them is...

The Mars Sample Return mission has a shaky future, and NASA is calling on private companies for backup

A critical NASA mission in the search for life beyond Earth, Mars Sample Return, is in trouble. Its budget has ballooned from US$5 billion to over $11 billion, and the sample return date may slip from the end of this...

A Nasa rover has reached a promising place to search for fossilised life on Mars

While we go about our daily lives on Earth, a nuclear-powered robot the size of a small car is trundling around Mars looking for fossils. Unlike its predecessor Curiosity, Nasas Perseverance rover is explicitly intended to...

The rising flood of space junk is a risk to us on Earth – and governments are on the hook

A piece of space junk recently crashed through the roof and floor of a mans home in Florida. Nasa later confirmed that the object had come from unwanted hardware released from the international space station. The 700g,...

Peter Higgs was one of the greats of particle physics. He transformed what we know about the building blocks of the universe

Peter Higgs, who gave his name to the subatomic particle known as the Higgs boson, has died aged 94. He was always a modest man, especially when considering that he was one of the greats of particle physics the area of...

Technology

Kakao Enhances AI Focus, Merges Kakao Brain Into Core Operations

South Koreas Kakao Corporation finally decided to absorb Kakao Brains AI unit. The tech and internet giant is taking over its AI research and development (RD) business, which will include all of the departments staff and...

Shiba Inu (SHIB) Team Insider Unravels Key Burn Mystery: Exclusive Details

In a revealing discussion, Lucie, a member of the Shiba Inu team, sheds light on the enigmatic key burns orchestrated by the projects founder, Ryoshi. Lucies insights, shared in response to community inquiries, clarify the...

World's Largest Electric Container Ship Sets Sail with 50,000 kWh Battery Power

COSCO Shipping, a Chinese state-owned firm, has unveiled what it calls the worlds largest river-to-sea electric container vessel. The Green Water 01 is a 10,000-ton+ electric vessel that sets a new standard for...

Tesla Drivers Get $4k Off 2024 Chevy Blazer EV; Costco Auto Slashes Prices on New EVs

Tesla owners rejoice as Chevrolet rolls out an unprecedented $4,000 discount on the 2024 Blazer EV, open to Tesla drivers and a quirky list of EV owners. The electric vehicle market got more enticing with incentives...

Tesla Granted South Korean Emission Credit Trading Rights by Environmental Ministry

Ministry of Environments green light for Tesla to trade emission credits in South Korea marks a significant milestone, enabling the electric car giant to tap into a potentially lucrative market. With estimated credits...