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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

What if the Reserve Bank itself has been feeding inflation? An economist explains

Heres something for the board of the Reserve Bank of Australia to ponder as it meets next month to set interest rates. It has pushed up rates on 13 occasions since it began its attempt to restrain inflation in May...

China’s new world order: looking for clues from Xi’s recent meetings with foreign leaders

There is broad consensus that Chinese foreign policy has become more assertive and more centralised in the decade since Xi Jinping has ascended to the top of Chinas leadership. This has also meant that Chinese foreign...

How India’s economy has fared under ten years of Narendra Modi

More than 960 million Indians will head to the polls in the worlds biggest election between April 19 and early June. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is seeking a third...

Will global oil supply be at risk if Iran and Israel pull the Middle East into war?

Tensions in the Middle East have escalated following Irans weekend missile and drone attacks on Israel, heightening concerns of a wider conflict. As with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, further conflict has the...

EU enlargement: What does the future hold?

To widen or to deepen. This has been one of the longstanding dilemmas throughout European Union (EU) history, and a perennial sticking point in the unending process of European integration. In its time, the UK...

Politics

Georgia is sliding towards autocracy after government moves to force through bill on ‘foreign agents’

Georgias ruling party attempted to pass a controversial bill on foreign agents in March 2023. The law would have required civil society groups and the media to register as being under foreign influence if they receive...

South Korean President Yoon faces foreign policy challenges after the National Assembly election

South Koreas parliamentary election of April 10, 2024, was widely seen as a referendum on President Yoon Suk Yeols first two years in office. That being the case, the nation collectively expressed its strong...

How will US foreign policy affect Joe Biden’s chances of re-election in November?

When big questions about American foreign policy collide with an election, its rarely good news for a sitting president. Like many leaders before him, US President Joe Biden has had some of these questions thrust on...

US Commerce Secretary Asserts Huawei Chip Lag, Affirms Export Control Success

In an interview on CBS News 60 Minutes, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo stated that the latest Huawei Mate 60 Pro phones chip remains significantly behind U.S. technology despite being the most advanced from China. She...

‘We have thousands of Modis’: the secret behind the BJP’s enduring success in India

Since 2014, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modis popularity has grown exponentially and so has the formidable organisational machine of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). These two factors will be key to delivering the BJP...

Science

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...

Could a telescope ever see the beginning of time? An astronomer explains

The James Webb Space Telescope, or JWST for short, is one of the most advanced telescopes ever built. Planning for JWST began over 25 years ago, and construction efforts spanned over a decade. It was launched into space on...

US media coverage of new science less likely to mention researchers with African and East Asian names

When one Chinese national recently petitioned the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to become a permanent resident, he thought his chances were pretty good. As an accomplished biologist, he figured that news...

If life exists on Jupiter’s moon Europa, scientists might soon be able to detect it

Europa is one of the largest of more than 90 moons in orbit around the planet Jupiter. It is also one of the best places to look for alien life. Often termed an ocean world by scientists, observations to date strongly...

Technology

Mercedes-Benz to Release Luxury Electric Van in China

Mercedes-Benz, the German luxury and commercial vehicle manufacturer, plans to release a luxury electric van model in China. This information was shared by the companys head of the vans unit, Mathias Geisen, to the local...

Samourai Wallet Founders Arrested, Crypto Markets Tumble Amid Regulatory Heat

The cryptocurrency market dipped significantly after the U.S. Department of Justice arrested Samourai Wallets CEO and CTO, exacerbating volatility amid geopolitical tensions and the recent Bitcoin halving. Bitcoin and...

Post-Halving Surge: Standard Chartered Predicts Bitcoin to Hit $150K on Reduced Market Leverage

Geoff Kendrick, Standard Chartered Banks analyst and head of digital assets research, believes bitcoin (BTC) would likely trend upward following the halving due to lower leveraged market positions. In an interview with...

Tesla Cybertruck Hits 1,000-Unit Weekly Production Amid Q1 Financial Shortfalls

Tesla announced a milestone in Cybertruck production, achieving 1,000 units per week concurrently with reporting lower-than-expected financial results for Q1 2024. Despite missing revenue and earnings estimates, Teslas...

IBM Acquires HashiCorp, Giving Its Hybrid-Cloud Business a Boost

IBM, or the International Business Machines Corporation, announced it will buy the San Francisco-based software company HashiCorp on Wednesday, April 24. IBMs Strategic Acquisition IBMs acquisition of HashiCorp,...