...Question: How does international political economy impact on your life in Belgium? Introduction International political economy also known as global political economy is an academic discipline within the social sciences that analyzes international relations in combination with political economy. As an interdisciplinary field it draws on many distinct academic schools, most notably political science and economics, but also sociology, history, and cultural studies. International political economy is concerned with the ways in which political forces (states, institutions, individuals, etc.) shape the systems through which economic interactions are expressed, and equally the effect that economic interactions have on political structures and outcomes. International political economy has various categories that help to describe and explain the different political and economic policies that various states, institutions and individuals may choose to be interested in. These categories are liberal, realist and Marxist. In this essay I will be exploring the different categories and the impact they would have on the international political economy of Belgium. History & Summary of Belgium Belgium is a constitutional, popular monarchy and a parliamentary democracy. It is a small, highly developed and densely populated country with approximately 10 million inhabitants at the cross-roads of Western Europe. Belgium is one of the founding members of the European Community, and its capital...
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...within the social sciences that analyzes international relations in combination with political economy. As an interdisciplinary field it draws on many distinct academic schools, most notably political science and economics, but also sociology, history, and cultural studies. The academic boundaries of IPE are flexible, and along with acceptable epistemologies are the subject of robust debate. This debate is essentially framed by the discipline's status as a new and interdisciplinary field of study. Despite such disagreements, most scholars can concur that IPE ultimately is concerned with the ways in which political forces (states, institutions, individual actors, etc.) shape the systems through which economic interactions are expressed, and conversely the effect that economic interactions (including the power of collective markets and individuals acting both within and outside them) have upon political structures and outcomes. IPE scholars are at the center of the debate and research surrounding globalization, both in the popular and academic spheres. Other topics that command substantial attention among IPE scholars are international trade (with particular attention to the politics surrounding trade deals, but also significant work examining the results of trade deals), development, the relationship between democracy and markets, international finance, global markets, multi-state cooperation in solving trans-border economic problems, and the structural balance of power between...
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...How useful are theories of integration to understanding the development of the European Union? BY IRABOR PETER ODION 07037830536 p24real2000@yahoo.com. “There is no historical precedent for the creation of a multinational, multicultural, and multilingual federation of states with mature social, economic, political and legal systems. In this regard the EU is a colossal and original enterprise.” From the beginnings of its development, there have many causes for the development of what is now the European Union (EU). This essay examines theories of integration and evaluates their validity in explaining the development of the EU. Then, by scrutinising these theories, this essay will seek to establish which, if any provide a comprehensive explanation for the development of the EU. Theories of integration offer explanations of how and why supranational governance has developed. Whilst there are undoubtedly many different causes and factors which have contributed to the development of the EU, this essay primarily focuses on neo-functionalism and intergovernmentalism as well as some new theories of integration which seek to explain the development. Although federalist and functionalist...
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...International Relation and European-Asian studies A Dialogic Approach to Intercultural Communication ------------------------------------------------- Cosmopolitan Liberalism Tallinn 2015 Cosmopolitan Liberalism By political cosmopolitanism we mean the idea of overcoming the fragmentation of the world into an anarchy of states by constructing a global public order within which states are subsumed. The new liberal cosmopolitanism argues that this new global public order can and must be based upon liberal principles. Liberal cosmopolitanism in its current form is a radicalization of Anglo-American liberal internationalism. It shares a whole series of commitments with the latter: one humanity, liberal values and cognitive frameworks, individual liberal rights, liberal-democracy, the promotion of peace through international economic liberalism, the development of liberal universalist international law and institutions. Liberal Cosmopolitanism differs from Liberal Internationalism in three key goals: * The subordination of the states to a global order of governance, protecting the liberal rights of individual citizens from state authorities, even through coercive action where necessary. * The transformation of state sovereignty from an absolute right into a licence extended to the state by the global community on the condition that the state behaves in an at least minimally liberal way towards its citizens. * The emergence of cosmopolitan citizens...
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...organisations within a state and/or all member states within an intergovernmental organisation (IGO) Includes all aspects of cooperative behaviour between states; especially power ratios, economic activity and socio-cultural effects 2. Relative gain: a theoretical option open to political actors based on the belief that decisions are only intended to balance power relations between states or increase the power of one state over its rivals Generally disregards economic and socio-cultural considerations, and only allows limited cooperation between states (especially in relations where information about other states’ interests and inclinations is limited) 3. Zero-sum: a relational state wherein a participant's gain or loss is exactly balanced by the losses or gains of the other participants (assuming that total gains of the participants are added, and the total losses are subtracted, the numerical result will sum to zero) Particularly useful in competitive relations, and explains economic behaviour such as opportunity cost and absolute advantage Non-zero sum: a relational state wherein all participants act based upon their respective efficient capabilities, and attempt to coordinate the efficiencies to result in benefits for all participants Particularly useful in explaining comparative advantage in economics and in other fields 1. International institutions: formal organisations, in which governments participate, that attempt to produce profitable/gainful arrangements and compromises...
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...global economy, international diplomacy, soft security, and broader world order. Analytically, it poses major challenge by virtue of its status as a something more than an intergovernmental organization but less than a fully-fledged European state. Therefore a tendency has prevailed that the EU’s external behavior can be understood through a combination of understanding the EU’s sui generis qualities, and a reliance on the tools of comparative politics. Consequently, the subject of international relations of the European Union’ is a neglected one. This volume/book widens the perspective from ‘the EU as a global actor’ to ‘international relations and the EU’. This focus does not rule out consideration of the EU’s credentials as an international/global actor, rather it connects this issue to the broader study of IR and of international policy-making. Thus ‘International Relations and the European Union’ is about both the place of Europe in the world and the way the world contributes to the shaping of Europe. At the same time, it is about the place, actual and appropriate, of the EU in the academic subjects International Relations. Previous Stages of Knowledge: In general, the EU has drawn an extensive attention of the scholarly writings on its historical evolution, the process of integration, and the particular roles and functions of its institutions. But in terms of an international actor, the EU too often in the past has been dependent on some major event or policy, such...
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...GCE History |Contents |Page | | | | |Unit A2 1: Option 1, Anglo–Spanish Relations 1509–1609 |5 | |Unit A2 1: Option 2, Crown and Parliament in England 1600–1702 The Changing Role and |17 | |Status of Parliament | | | |37 | |Unit A2 1: Option 3, Liberalism and Nationalism 1815–1914 | | |Unit A2 1: Option 4, Nationalism and Unionism in Ireland 1800–1900 |51 | |Unit A2 1: Option 5, The Clash of Ideologies in Europe 1900–2000 |67 | Introduction CCEA has developed new GCE specifications for first teaching from September 2008. This scheme of work has been designed to support...
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...Interdependence and Conflict: An Introduction Edward D. Mansfield and Brian M. Pollins Over the past few decades, there has been a surge of interest in the relationship between economic interdependence and political con›ict. One view that has gained considerable popularity and empirical support is that heightened interdependence fosters cooperative political relations. Voiced with increasing regularity in both academic and policy circles, this claim has been used to help justify the formation of the European Economic Community, Richard Nixon’s opening to China, Willy Brandt’s Ostpolitik, and Henry Kissinger’s conception of détente with the Soviet Union. Nonetheless, critics of this argument have not been stilled. Some observers maintain that, rather than fostering cooperation, increased interdependence generates political discord. Even more widespread is the argument that economic exchange has no strong bearing on the high politics of national security. This debate is hardly new. For centuries, the nature and strength of the links between interdependence and con›ict have been the subject of heated disagreement. Until lately, however, these links remained the subject of remarkably little systematic scrutiny. In recent years, a growing number of studies have attempted to ‹ll this gap in the literature, but they have yet to resolve various crucial questions. Most important, how and to what extent does interdependence in›uence political antagonism? What are the causal...
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...anarchy in which the international system exists. The lack of an ordering sovereign authority to oversee relations between states dominates debate between scholars as to whether the world will ever be a peaceful, threat-free environment. In order to eliminate war and conflict, cooperation must characterize states’ behaviour towards one another, a system in which ‘the security of each [state] is perceived as the responsibility of all’ (Wendt, 1999). The question then becomes why, if cooperation leads to rewards for everyone, do states enter into conflict and war? International Relations theorists seek to explain this paradox by examining the obstacles to cooperation. For classical realists, the answer is simple; lust for power and a drive for conflict are rooted within human nature and, since humans are the operators of state actors, state behaviour mimics this nature in its approach to international relations. Neo-realists, by contrast, follow Waltz in his belief that the anarchic structure of the international system causes states to seek security and power, and therefore provides the ultimate obstacle to cooperation. While liberals disagree altogether, offering the counterargument that men are rational, and therefore states choose to engage in conflict in order to pursue state preferences, based on a cost-benefit analysis. The primary obstacle to cooperation for liberals, then, is the clash of interests between states. Realist political theory is largely based on the assumption...
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...Women in development (WID)[edit] Theoretical approach The term “women and development” was originally coined by a Washington-based network of female development professionals in the early 1970s[3] who sought to put in question the trickle down theories of development by contesting that modernization had identical impact on men and women.[4] The Women in Development movement (WID) gained momentum in the 1970s, driven by the resurgence of women's movement in northern countries, whereby liberal feminists were striving for equal rights and labour opportunities in the United States.[5] Liberal feminism, postulating that women's disadvantages in society may be eliminated by breaking down stereotyped customary expectations of women by offering better education to women and introducing equal opportunity programmes,[6] had a notable influence on the formulation of the WID approaches, whereby little attention was given to men and to power relations between genders.[5] The translation of the 1970s feminist movements and their repeated calls for employment opportunities in the development agenda meant that particular attention was given to the productive labour of women, leaving aside reproductive concerns and social welfare.[5] Yet this focus was part of the approach pushed forward by advocates of the WID movement, reacting to the general policy environment maintained by early colonial authorities and post-war development authorities, wherein inadequate reference to the work undertook by...
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...‘Double Hegemony’? State and Class in American Foreign Economic Policymaking CHRISTOPH SCHERRER, UNIVERSITY OF KASSEL Published in: Amerikastudien 46 (2001, 4), 573-591. ABSTRACT The paper introduces research on transatlantic relations done by neo-Gramscian authors. This research is distinctive by focusing on class in international relations and by using the concept of hegemony in a relational sense. Hegemony is leadership through the active consent of other classes and groups. A central question of this neo-Gramscian research is whether an international class of capitalists has emerged. Some authors have answered in the positive. This paper, however, maintains that hegemony in the international realm is still exercised by the American state, though its foreign economic policies have been greatly influenced by internationally-oriented corporations and that these actors have increasingly found allies among economic elites in other countries. The paper explores the relationship between hegemony by the American state and by internationally-oriented capital groups against the backdrop of transatlantic relations in the post-war period and the current debate on labor rights in international trade agreements. 1. Introduction The United States government has been, without doubt, the decisive force in establishing and shaping the main multilateral institutions of the world market since the Second World War. It has consistently pursued the opening of other nations’ markets to gain...
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...To what Extent is Security a Necessary Precondition for Development? 1 Introduction The understanding of the relationship between security and development that drivesdevelopment policies of donor agencies and countries has varied throughout the past 60 years.During the Cold War, western donors had widely focussed on assisting their third World partners with aid to repel the communist threat. In the post Cold War period, while assistancehad sharply dropped, it was mostly disconnected from security interests. However, with theoccurrence of the 9/11 events, development assistance has rocketed once more as manyimportant players within the donor community have focussed their peace and statebuildingefforts on promoting security in the name of development in 'failed' and 'fragile states' (Beallet al. 2006). This logic presumes that before development can unfold, a secure environmenthas to be established, making security a necessary precondition for development. This is alsodescribed as a 'security first' approach to development. However, the human security (HS)concept contests this logic. While a 'security first' approach focuses mainly on the security ofWestern countries, human security emphasizes the security needs of the people living indeveloping countries, depicting daily threats as a critical source of insecurity. Therefore,human security clearly focuses on the improvement of long-term development, emphasizingthat development and security have to be equally promoted. Therefore...
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...Theories of International Relations Third edition Scott Burchill, Andrew Linklater, Richard Devetak, Jack Donnelly, Matthew Paterson, Christian Reus-Smit and Jacqui True Theories of International Relations This page intentionally left blank Theories of International Relations Third edition Scott Burchill, Andrew Linklater, Richard Devetak, Jack Donnelly, Matthew Paterson, Christian Reus-Smit and Jacqui True Material from 1st edition © Deakin University 1995, 1996 Chapter 1 © Scott Burchill 2001, Scott Burchill and Andrew Linklater 2005 Chapter 2 © Jack Donnelly 2005 Chapter 3 © Scott Burchill, Chapters 4 and 5 © Andrew Linklater, Chapters 6 and 7 © Richard Devetak, Chapter 8 © Christian Reus-Smit, Chapter 9 © Jacqui True, Chapter 10 © Matthew Paterson 2001, 2005 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 4LP. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The authors have asserted their rights to be identified as the authors of this work in accordance with the Copyright...
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...Semiotic is one of considerable approach in study of media, especially television ads. Emerging from meaning-based models, semiotic of television ads differ from the traditional information processing approach to advertising reception principally because advertising meanings are constructed within the signifying frame of the “text” by audience or “ads reader” rather than simply being delivered in content by the advertising. In effect, passive terms such as ‘reception’ and ‘processing’ in advertising-audience relationship are rejected by meaning-based models and replaced with the more active concept of ‘interpretation’. Splashy mass media published photographs of 'exciting' and female models writings that stimulate the libido had struck the country in line with momentum reform. Feminism is a theory and politics that contains competing perspectives and prescription for action. However, in general terms, we may locate feminism as asserting that sex is a fundamental and irreducible axis of social organization which, to date, has subordinated women to men. Thus, feminism is centrally concerned with sex as an organizing principle of social life where gender relations are thoroughly saturated with power. The subordination of women is argued to be evident across a range of social institutions and practices, that is, male power and female subordination are structural. This has led some feminists to adopt the concept of patriarchy, with its derivative meanings of the male-headed family...
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...1 The Foundations of International Society 2013-2014 Part I: Politics 2 (International Relations I) Paper organiser: Professor Christopher Hill (POLIS): Room 105, Alison Richard Building Email: cjh68@cam.ac.uk Lecturers: Professor Hill (CH), Dr Elisabetta Brighi (EB), Dr Aaron Rapport (AR) and Dr Stefano Recchia (SR). Aims and Objectives The course aims to introduce students to the subject of International Relations (IR), whose main focus is the nature of politics at the international level. Students will acquire the empirical and conceptual foundations needed to understand a world political system which cannot be accurately described as either pure anarchy or a coherent form of ‘global governance’. The starting point is the notion of ‘international society’, which refers to the set of institutions and common procedures generated by states over the last three and a half centuries in their attempts to achieve some minimal form of co-existence, but which has gradually evolved to include many non-state actors and different levels of activity – diplomatic, economic and cultural, as well as that of military competition. By the end of the course you should be able to have an informed discussion about: the historical origins of the present system; what is distinctive about international politics as opposed to politics inside the state; and the main challenges which confront humanity in the twenty-first century. You will also acquire a basic familiarity with the main theories needed...
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