Simon Fabian Renner
About
Simon Renner is a postdoctoral fellow in the ERC-funded project "Blockade" at the Department of Modern History and Society at NTNU. He studied history, economics, and German studies at LMU Munich and was a visiting fellow at Coventry University and LMU Munich. His research focuses on economic history, with a particular emphasis on the policies of states and businesses in the 20th century, including British, German, Italian, and Norwegian history.
His postdoctoral project examines the strategies employed by blockaded states and companies to adapt to (anticipated) blockade-induced challenges. These strategies include, for example, the relocation of supply chains, the development of domestic resources, rationing of supplies, and substitution programs. The project focuses on the 1930s and the Second World War, with particular attention to Italy’s state adaptation strategies and German corporate strategies. His PhD project, part of the "Fate of Nations" project, explored British raw material strategies in the aftermath of the First World War, specifically concerning non-ferrous metals like copper, lead, nickel, and tungsten. In an additional project started after his PhD, he worked as a research fellow examining the European scale of war material disposal practices during and after the Second World War.
Renner has published an article in the International History Review, demonstrating how business actions can undermine economic warfare strategies. He has further publications planned, including a comprehensive monograph.
Educational background
- PhD in Economic History
- Degree in History, Economics, German Studies (Staatsexamen, at LMU Munich)
- Trained as a bank clerk
Publications
2024
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Renner, Simon.
(2024)
Canadian Nickel for Nazi Germany–How Government-Business Relationships Affected British Blockade Strategies in the 1930s.
International History Review
Academic article
2022
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Renner, Simon Fabian.
(2022)
The Blockade in the Era of the Two World Wars, 1914-1945.
H-Soz-Kult. Kommunikation und Fachinformation für die Geschichtswissenschaften
Academic literature review
Journal publications
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Renner, Simon.
(2024)
Canadian Nickel for Nazi Germany–How Government-Business Relationships Affected British Blockade Strategies in the 1930s.
International History Review
Academic article
-
Renner, Simon Fabian.
(2022)
The Blockade in the Era of the Two World Wars, 1914-1945.
H-Soz-Kult. Kommunikation und Fachinformation für die Geschichtswissenschaften
Academic literature review
Teaching
Simon Renner has lectured on various topics related to the political economy of natural resources, with a particular focus on German, Japanese, and Italian autarky, as well as British independence strategies in the 1930s. He has also addressed themes such as economic globalization and deglobalization over the past 150 years, geopolitics after World War II, and the environmental consequences of warfare. In addition to lecturing, Renner has been actively involved in supervising students during the writing of term papers and in grading exams, drawing on his proficiency in both English and Norwegian. He has taught the following courses:
Outreach
2024
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Academic lectureRenner, Simon. (2024) State-Fueled Giants: Unveiling the Interwar Formative Period of British Big Business. Annual Congress of the European Business History Association , Lisbon 11.07.2024 - 13.07.2024
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Academic lectureRenner, Simon Fabian. (2024) Echoes of the Great War: Unveiling British Raw Material Strategies in the Interwar Era. Fate of Nations Final Conference , Trondheim 07.03.2024 - 08.03.2024
2022
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Academic lectureRenner, Simon Fabian. (2022) Learning from the Blockade: British Plans for Economic Pressure on Germany in the late 1930s. The Blockade in the Era of the Two World Wars, 1914-1945 , Trondheim 17.06.2022 - 18.06.2022
2021
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Academic lectureRenner, Simon Fabian. (2021) Lessons learned? Securing essential materials in changing global value chains: British raw material planning and dependencies on Germany in the tungsten value chain in the interwar period. Link: https://files.ehs.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/29060744/NRIIE-Renner.pdf. Economic History Society's Annual Conference , Online 06.04.2021 - 09.04.2024
2019
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Academic lectureRenner, Simon Fabian. (2019) Raw Material Policy of Great Britain during the Interwar Period. Arbeitskreis für kritische Unternehmens- und Industriegeschichte - Nachwuchsworkshop , Mainz 14.09.2019 - 15.09.2024