New Podcast: Money, Power and Democracy
A panel discussion on public finance and democracy, featuring Andrea Binder, Philip Manow and Jenny Stupka, is now available as a podcast episode of "Das Neue Berlin".
How do the ways we think and talk about public finance shape political possibilities? A special episode of the podcast Das Neue Berlin features a panel discussion with political economist Andrea Binder, political economist and democratic theorist Philip Manow, and philosopher and political theorist Jenny Stupka, moderated by Leon Wansleben. Recorded at the WZB Berlin on 18 May 2026, the discussion accompanied the publication of the Leviathan special issue Politische Theorien öffentlicher Finanzen. The panel addressed questions ranging from public debt and special funds (Sondervermögen) to the constraints of the international financial system and the democratic legitimacy of public finance.
Andrea Binder brought the international and offshore dimensions of finance into the discussion. She highlighted the role of offshore financial centres in the development of the international monetary system:
„Ohne diese Offshore-Finanzplätze hätte der US-Dollar gar nicht die internationale Dominanz entwickeln können, die er heute hat.“
She also connected offshore finance to questions of regulation and democratic decision-making:
„Die Bankenregulierung, die wir eigentlich innerhalb eines demokratischen Diskurses aushandeln, wird über diese Offshore-Finanzzentren umgangen.“
This connection between offshore finance and democratic decision-making is central to Andrea Binder’s contribution to the discussion:
„Und deswegen ist es für mich auch eine Frage der Demokratie.“
The podcast episode was released on 1 August 2026 and is available from Das Neue Berlin.