Supervised by the late Barry Hindess, I wrtote my PhD on the history of economic thought, later published as A Critical History of the Economy (Routledge, 2011). I am currently studying the emergence of the economist as a distinctive intellectual persona, focusing on the British case, which naturally directs attention to Adam Smith, Thomas Robert Malthus, and David Ricardo. The tendency for the history of economic thought to be written in a retrospective idiom has obscured the fact that the first economists were greeted with open hostility by important sections of their society. One of the leading reasons was that 'theorising' had not been established as a prestigious activity, and the presumption of intellectuals to reform their societies on the basis of 'theory' was often perceived as an instance of philosophical enthusiasm, an intellectual pathology underlying the French Revolution. The long-range hypothesis to test in future work is that the original fractiousness of economists made it exceedingly difficult to stabilise the office of the economist in relation to government, and that the nature of this office has been an object of contest inside and outside economics ever since. Provisional results have been published in Modern Intellectual History, Historical Journal, and Intellectual History Review.
Journal Article: The Bullion Controversy and the history of political thought: experience, innovation and theory
Walter, Ryan (2018) The Bullion Controversy and the history of political thought: experience, innovation and theory. Intellectual History Review, 1-22. doi:10.1080/17496977.2018.1526452
Journal Article: The enthusiasm of David Ricardo
Walter, Ryan (2018) The enthusiasm of David Ricardo. Modern Intellectual History, 15 2: 1-29. doi:10.1017/S1479244316000044
Journal Article: Rhetoric or deliberation? The case for rhetorical political analysis
Walter, Ryan (2017) Rhetoric or deliberation? The case for rhetorical political analysis. Political Studies, 65 2: 300-315. doi:10.1177/0032321716651898
Journal Article: Adam Smith’s free trade casuistry
Walter, Ryan (2016) Adam Smith’s free trade casuistry. Global Intellectual History, 1 1: 61-82. doi:10.1080/23801883.2016.1228180
Journal Article: From theory to history: Keith Tribe’s Land, labour and economic discourse and The economy of the word
Walter, Ryan (2016) From theory to history: Keith Tribe’s Land, labour and economic discourse and The economy of the word. Economy and Society, 45 3-4: 537-546. doi:10.1080/03085147.2016.1240517
Journal Article: Slingsby Bethel's Analysis of State Interests
Walter, Ryan (2015) Slingsby Bethel's Analysis of State Interests. History of European Ideas, 41 4: 489-506. doi:10.1080/01916599.2014.926659
Book: A critical history of the economy: on the birth of the national and international economies
Walter, Ryan A critical history of the economy: on the birth of the national and international economies. Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, UK: Routledge, 2011.
(2014–2018) Australian National University
The rise of the national economic interest
(2014–2016) ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award
(2010) UQ Early Career Researcher
Small is Beautiful: Knowledge Sharing Practices in Indonesia's Puskesmas Model of Primary Health Care
Doctor Philosophy
A Curious Case of Institutional Change: The Employment Act 1946
Doctor Philosophy
Disaggregating `the Enlightenment¿: An International Intellectual History of the English Enlightenment
Doctor Philosophy
The History of Political Theory
I am currently investigating the history of political theory, building on Ian Hunter's "History of Theory" work. Early results have been published in Modern Intellectual History (2018). The leading finding so far is that the first "political theorists" were greeted with hostility because their presumption to remodel their societies on the basis of abstract reason was construed in relation to "enthusiasm" - a pathology affecting the mind by which it becomes enchanted with its own creations, above all, intellectual systems and dazzling ideas. These results suggest that a crucial line for further research to pursue is the means by which "theorists" achieved the status and prestige that they enjoy today.
The History of Liberalism
My recent work loosely tracks the history of "liberalism", but with extreme scepticism towards the usefulness of that category. In short, the aim is to reject the lazy assertion that ideas make the world and instead track those texts and arts of reasoning that achieved institutional and political traction. This, in turn, requires focusing on texts and their reception histories, alongside investigating the personnel who staffed the liberal-democratic state. While my chief interest is in the role of political economists in shaping parliamentary deliberation and reform in nineteenth-century Britain - see the Bullion Controversy, Poor Laws, and Corn Laws - the bigger vision will need to take in party politicians, lawyers, and bureaucrats. Early results have been published in Intellectual History Review (2018).
The Bullion Controversy and the history of political thought: experience, innovation and theory
Walter, Ryan (2018) The Bullion Controversy and the history of political thought: experience, innovation and theory. Intellectual History Review, 1-22. doi:10.1080/17496977.2018.1526452
The enthusiasm of David Ricardo
Walter, Ryan (2018) The enthusiasm of David Ricardo. Modern Intellectual History, 15 2: 1-29. doi:10.1017/S1479244316000044
Rhetoric or deliberation? The case for rhetorical political analysis
Walter, Ryan (2017) Rhetoric or deliberation? The case for rhetorical political analysis. Political Studies, 65 2: 300-315. doi:10.1177/0032321716651898
Adam Smith’s free trade casuistry
Walter, Ryan (2016) Adam Smith’s free trade casuistry. Global Intellectual History, 1 1: 61-82. doi:10.1080/23801883.2016.1228180
Walter, Ryan (2016) From theory to history: Keith Tribe’s Land, labour and economic discourse and The economy of the word. Economy and Society, 45 3-4: 537-546. doi:10.1080/03085147.2016.1240517
Slingsby Bethel's Analysis of State Interests
Walter, Ryan (2015) Slingsby Bethel's Analysis of State Interests. History of European Ideas, 41 4: 489-506. doi:10.1080/01916599.2014.926659
A critical history of the economy: on the birth of the national and international economies
Walter, Ryan A critical history of the economy: on the birth of the national and international economies. Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, UK: Routledge, 2011.
Studies in Australian Political Rhetoric
Studies in Australian Political Rhetoric. Edited by Uhr, John and Walter, Ryan Canberra, ACT, Australia: ANU E Press, 2014.
A critical history of the economy: on the birth of the national and international economies
Walter, Ryan A critical history of the economy: on the birth of the national and international economies. Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, UK: Routledge, 2011.
Economic management, rhetorical tactics, and the cost of promises
Walter, Ryan (2014). Economic management, rhetorical tactics, and the cost of promises. In John Uhr and Ryan Walter (Ed.), Studies in Australian political rhetoric (pp. 33-62) Canberra A.C.T., Australia: ANU E Press.
Office, political theory, and the political theorist
Kearnes, David and Walter, Ryan (2019) Office, political theory, and the political theorist. The Historical Journal, 1-21. doi:10.1017/s0018246x19000220
Walter, Ryan (2019) Defending political theory after Burke: Stewart's intellectual disciplines and the demotion of practice. Journal of the History of Ideas, 80 3: 387-408. doi:10.1353/jhi.2019.0028
The Bullion Controversy and the history of political thought: experience, innovation and theory
Walter, Ryan (2018) The Bullion Controversy and the history of political thought: experience, innovation and theory. Intellectual History Review, 1-22. doi:10.1080/17496977.2018.1526452
In search of the two-handed economist: ideology, methodology and marketing in economics
Walter, Ryan (2018) In search of the two-handed economist: ideology, methodology and marketing in economics. Economic and Labour Relations Review, 29 3: 367-371. doi:10.1177/1035304618781655
The enthusiasm of David Ricardo
Walter, Ryan (2018) The enthusiasm of David Ricardo. Modern Intellectual History, 15 2: 1-29. doi:10.1017/S1479244316000044
Rhetoric or deliberation? The case for rhetorical political analysis
Walter, Ryan (2017) Rhetoric or deliberation? The case for rhetorical political analysis. Political Studies, 65 2: 300-315. doi:10.1177/0032321716651898
Adam Smith’s free trade casuistry
Walter, Ryan (2016) Adam Smith’s free trade casuistry. Global Intellectual History, 1 1: 61-82. doi:10.1080/23801883.2016.1228180
Walter, Ryan (2016) From theory to history: Keith Tribe’s Land, labour and economic discourse and The economy of the word. Economy and Society, 45 3-4: 537-546. doi:10.1080/03085147.2016.1240517
Devetak, Richard and Walter, Ryan (2016) The critical theorist's labour: empirical or philosophical historiography for international relations?. Globalizations, 13 5: 1-12. doi:10.1080/14747731.2015.1133527
Utilitarianism and Malthus' virtue ethics: respectable, virtuous and happy
Walter, Ryan (2016) Utilitarianism and Malthus' virtue ethics: respectable, virtuous and happy. European Journal of the History of Economic Thought, 23 1: 159-164. doi:10.1080/09672567.2015.1074824
Slingsby Bethel's Analysis of State Interests
Walter, Ryan (2015) Slingsby Bethel's Analysis of State Interests. History of European Ideas, 41 4: 489-506. doi:10.1080/01916599.2014.926659
The Rhetorical Standards of Public Reason in Australia
Walter, Ryan and Uhr, John (2015) The Rhetorical Standards of Public Reason in Australia. Australian Journal of Politics and History, 61 2: 248-262. doi:10.1111/ajph.12100
A Review of “Adam Ferguson in the Scottish Enlightenment: The Roman Past and Europe's Future”
Walter, Ryan (2015) A Review of “Adam Ferguson in the Scottish Enlightenment: The Roman Past and Europe's Future”. European Journal of the History of Economic Thought, 22 1: 135-140. doi:10.1080/09672567.2014.924701
Budget talk: rhetorical constraints and contests
Walter, Ryan and Uhr, John (2013) Budget talk: rhetorical constraints and contests. Australian Journal of Political Science, 48 4: 431-444. doi:10.1080/10361146.2013.837426
Foundations of modern international thought
Walter, Ryan (2013) Foundations of modern international thought. The European Journal of the History of Economic Thought, 20 3: 513-517. doi:10.1080/09672567.2013.795359
Review of Iara Vigo de Lima’s Foucault’s archaeology of political economy
Walter, Ryan (2012) Review of Iara Vigo de Lima’s Foucault’s archaeology of political economy. Erasmus Journal for Philosophy and Economics, 5 1: 106-111.
Walter, Ryan (2011) States and markets. Review of International Studies, 37 2: 691-713. doi:10.1017/S026021051000094X
Hobbes, liberalism, and political technique
Walter, Ryan (2011) Hobbes, liberalism, and political technique. European legacy-toward new paradigms, 16 1: 53-69. doi:10.1080/10848770.2011.543374
Politics and economics: Beyond the contamination thesis
Walter, Ryan (2011) Politics and economics: Beyond the contamination thesis. Contemporary Political Theory, 10 4: 444-462. doi:10.1057/cpt.2010.35
The Analysis of Interest and the History of Economic Thought
Walter, Ryan (2011) The Analysis of Interest and the History of Economic Thought. Parergon: Journal of the Australian and New Zealand Association for Medieval and Early Modern Studies, 28 2: 129-147. doi:10.1353/pgn.2011.0090
Foucault and radical deliberative democracy
Walter, Ryan (2008) Foucault and radical deliberative democracy. Australian Journal of Political Science, 43 3: 531-546. doi:10.1080/10361140802267290
The economy and Pocock's political economy
Walter, Ryan (2008) The economy and Pocock's political economy. History of European Ideas, 34 3: 334-344. doi:10.1016/j.histeuroideas.2007.12.010
Reconciling Foucault and Skinner on the state: The primacy of politics?
Walter, Ryan (2008) Reconciling Foucault and Skinner on the state: The primacy of politics?. History of the Human Sciences, 21 3: 94-114. doi:10.1177/0952695108093955
Governmentality accounts of the economy: A liberal bias?
Walter, Ryan (2008) Governmentality accounts of the economy: A liberal bias?. Economy and Society, 37 1: 94-114. doi:10.1080/03085140701760890
(2014–2018) Australian National University
The rise of the national economic interest
(2014–2016) ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award
(2010) UQ Early Career Researcher
Small is Beautiful: Knowledge Sharing Practices in Indonesia's Puskesmas Model of Primary Health Care
Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor
Other advisors:
A Curious Case of Institutional Change: The Employment Act 1946
Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor
Other advisors:
Disaggregating `the Enlightenment¿: An International Intellectual History of the English Enlightenment
Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor
Other advisors:
Financial Market Tolerance of Government Debt: Understanding Tolerance for Government Debt and the Economic and Political Factors Considered
Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor
Other advisors:
Taming Impatient Capital: A Comparative Institutional Analysis of Corporate Short-Termism
Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor
Other advisors:
(2018) Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor
Other advisors:
(2017) Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor
Other advisors:
Note for students: The possible research projects listed on this page may not be comprehensive or up to date. Always feel free to contact the staff for more information, and also with your own research ideas.
The History of Political Theory
I am currently investigating the history of political theory, building on Ian Hunter's "History of Theory" work. Early results have been published in Modern Intellectual History (2018). The leading finding so far is that the first "political theorists" were greeted with hostility because their presumption to remodel their societies on the basis of abstract reason was construed in relation to "enthusiasm" - a pathology affecting the mind by which it becomes enchanted with its own creations, above all, intellectual systems and dazzling ideas. These results suggest that a crucial line for further research to pursue is the means by which "theorists" achieved the status and prestige that they enjoy today.
The History of Liberalism
My recent work loosely tracks the history of "liberalism", but with extreme scepticism towards the usefulness of that category. In short, the aim is to reject the lazy assertion that ideas make the world and instead track those texts and arts of reasoning that achieved institutional and political traction. This, in turn, requires focusing on texts and their reception histories, alongside investigating the personnel who staffed the liberal-democratic state. While my chief interest is in the role of political economists in shaping parliamentary deliberation and reform in nineteenth-century Britain - see the Bullion Controversy, Poor Laws, and Corn Laws - the bigger vision will need to take in party politicians, lawyers, and bureaucrats. Early results have been published in Intellectual History Review (2018).