Neil Fligstein

Neil Fligstein is the Class of 1939 Chancellor's Professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and Director of the Center for Culture, Organization, and Politics. His work integrates economic sociology, political economy, and organizational theory to examine how social institutions emerge, stabilize, and transform.

His research spans diverse phenomena: the 2008 financial crisis, the construction of the European Union, and climate change mitigation projects. He co-authored A Theory of Fields (2012), a foundational text for analyzing strategic action fields.

Recent publications focus on financialization in American households, fraud in mortgage-backed securities, and the evolution of green finance. His 2021 book The Banks Did It provides a historical anatomy of the mortgage-securitization industry.

• Member: American Academy of Arts and Sciences
• Current Projects: Global climate change initiatives, corporate emissions transparency
• Students: Adam Goldstein, Jacob Habinek, Jonah Stuart Brundage, Michael Schultz, Alex Roehrkasse, Zawadi Rucks Ahidiana, Orestes Hastings