International Political Economy

This course aims to introduce students to major theoretical and empirical issues in the field of international political economy (IPE). It will examine interactions between political and economic realms in the contemporary world, as well as introduce leading international, regional, and supranational organizations like the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and World Trade Organization scrutinizing their varying roles in shaping the global economy. Under four sections, the course will study several issue areas in IPE scholarship such as trade, international monetary system, international production networks (multinational corporations), globalization, regionalism, and development.

Starting with political economy of international and regional trade and the role of international and regional organizations, the course will also discuss the processes of globalization and regionalization along with the debates as to whether they are complementary or contradictory processes. The second part of the course will focus on monetary policies, global expansion of capital movements and their worldwide impact within the current wave of globalization. It will explore the expansion of both foreign direct investment through production networks of multinational corporations as well as their developmental outcomes.