PLT2230

International political economy

Proposed to be offered next in 1999

Chris Reus-Smit

8 points
* 3 hours per week
* Clayton

Objectives This subject aims to give students an understanding of the relationship between economic and political processes in the development of the modern system of sovereign states. It also seeks to introduce students to the major theoretical perspectives on international political economy and state formation, and to enable students to situate contemporary changes in global economic and political relations within the context of large-scale historical transformations.

Synopsis The international system is currently undergoing a far-reaching process of transformation. As one author observes, the `Westphalian temple' constructed during the seventeenth century is collapsing. This subject examines the political-economy of large-scale international change. After introducing students to the major realist, Marxist and liberal perspectives on international economic relations, the subject investigates the origin of the modern states-system, focusing on the relative importance that contending explanations have attached to the rise of capitalism and the advent of European imperialism. We then consider the impact of post-1945 economic changes on the nature of international politics. At this point students are introduced to domestic structure arguments, regime theory, French regulation theory, long-cycle theory, and ideas of globalisation. The subject concludes by considering the value of these theories for understanding the relationship between current changes in the global economy and international political change, concentrating on issues of sovereignty, the transition from Fordist to post-Fordist modes of production, and patterns of international institutional development.

Assessment Tutorial participation: 10%
* Assignment (1000 words): 15%
* Essay (2000 words): 35%
* Examination (3 hours): 40%

Recommended texts

Caporaso J A and Levine D Theories of political economy CUP, 1992
Schwartz H States versus markets St Martins, 1993
Gilpin R The political economy of international relations Princeton U P, 1987
Keohane R After hegemony Princeton U P, 1984