Susanne Soederberg, Professor of Political Studies and Global Development Studies at Queens University, examines the intersection between states, workers, and money. Her work addresses pressing social topics, including development finance, poverty, neoliberalism, debt (both consumer and sovereign), corporate governance, and global governance. Geographically, her research spans North America, Western Europe, Latin America and South East Asia. She received the Jane and Aatos Erkko Visiting Professorship in Studies of Contemporary Society in 2015.
A profoundly interdisciplinary scholar, Susanne draws on geography (urban studies), politics (comparative and international relations), sociology (global inequality), gender studies, and history to make sense of contemporary issues. Her most recent book, Debtfare States and the Poverty Industry: Money, Discipline and the Surplus Population (2014), examines the social power of money and new forms of neoliberal practice that deliberately use debt as a tool for social and economic governance. Her current research examines the impact of climate change on the poor, at the intersection of climate disasters, shelter, and debt.