Introduction - political economy, capital fractions, transnational class formation: Revisiting the Amsterdam School

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book provides a new generation of critical scholars an opportunity to become acquainted at first hand with some of the most representative contributions that have shaped the work of the Amsterdam School (AS). It presents critical commentaries, discussing the merits and shortcomings of the AS from a variety of perspectives. The book presents the early foundations of this research line which has continued throughout the years to inspire AS thinking as well as recruiting a new generation of scholars. It presents two representative papers that exemplify the continued productiveness of the early focus on the sources of European integration. Several themes run through the commentaries, surfacing in different forms in multiple contributions. They often echo themes that have been raised in the past but also raise new issues, especially where it relates to emerging new trends in the global political economy.