...Improving Perspectives of International Political Economy International Political Economy is a collection of aspects from economics, political science, sociology, history and some philosophy. With information coming from multiple sources there are bound to be numerous different perspectives of IPE. The three most common and well known perspectives examined will be liberalism, mercantilism and historical structuralism. Being that these are the three most accepted perspectives suggests that the majority of the views within these theories are strengths. However, with so much information, there are bound to be weaknesses and flaws found within these theories as well. There are always ways to improve on these the weaknesses and theories in general. International Political Economy deals with three main approaches: liberalism, historical structuralism and mercantilism. Each theory has its own strengths and weaknesses, but the way to improve them all is not to fix each individual weakness but to combine the strengths of all the perspectives into to create an entirely new theory. Liberalism is often described as the IPE perspective that focuses on the individual and the primacy of freedom or liberty in the book “Introduction to International Political Economy” by David Balaam and Michael Veseth. Individual freedom and capitalism are the overarching ideas found within the idea of liberalism. Capitalism is commonly referred to as a market-based economic system where free-markets...
Words: 2799 - Pages: 12
...of internal and external factors, the most appropriate response to current problems of economic performance in countries of the Middle East is to pursue stabilization and structural adjustment policies, supported by IMF/World Bank lending packages.’ Critically appraise this statement with reference to the recent experience of one MENA country of your choice. Many MENA countries have been facing significant economic hardships. This has forced the international community for economic intervention - serious interventions - to protect their interests in the form of economic reforms. Economic Reform and Structural Adjustment Programs had its failures, reflecting the failures of the post- Washington Consensus neo-liberal interventions in developing countries (Mitchelle, 1999). These failures have to reflect on choices of MENA countries as they are facing a cross-road. Forms of intervention varied in many ways after WWI, when political imperialism was done with its role in fostering mercantilist and conventional capitalism gains (Dillard, 1988). But these powers had to be maintained, so the economic intervention was more appealing than political, during the second half of the twentieth century. This paper argues that developing countries were victims of political and economic powers struggle for dominance during the cold war, and when the west capitalist prevailed after the collapse of communism in late 1980s, the ERSAPs were the most appropriate form of intervention to eradicate...
Words: 1183 - Pages: 5
...International political economy (IPE), 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. 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...
Words: 6475 - Pages: 26
...nternational political economy (IPE), 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. 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...
Words: 285 - Pages: 2
...does a “political economy” approach to study of the Creative and Cultural Industries involve? What are its advantages and disadvantages? ID: 10048001 Anastasia Davydova 1. Introduction The intention of this paper is to define what we mean by political economy? What does this approach involve to study the Creative and Cultural Industries and what its advantages and disadvantages. This work will search through definitions, different schools and historical periods to better understand the background of Political Economy. Also this approach will be compared with another approach which examines cultural industries namely cultural studies approach to underline the main key point of political economy. This essay will briefly discuss specifics features of Creative and Cultural industries and moves to political economy approach itself with the final observation of advantages and disadvantages. “Culture is our business and business is our culture” [1] Definitions The term political economy addresses to relationship between politics and economy, how political power cooperate with economics, so politics responsible for the society and economy, in other words in charge of wealth of the society. Hence it is possible to declare that political economy examines the production and distribution of wealth in society. But there are also combination of such factors as political, economic...
Words: 4271 - Pages: 18
...Economic Development The Impact of Political Decision Making Process to Economic Development Ruben Tota 1006805763 Statement of Authorship “Saya/kami yang bertandatangan dibawah ini menyatakan bahwa makalah/tugas terlampir adalah murni hasil pekerjaan saya/kami sendiri. Tidak ada pekerjaan orang lain yang saya/kami gunakan tanpa menyebutkan sumbernya. Materi ini tidak/belum pernah disajikan/digunakan sebagai bahan untuk makalah/tugas pada mata ajaran lain kecuali saya/kami menyatakan dengan jelas bahwa saya/kami menyatakan menggunakannya.” Saya/kami memahami bahwa tugas yang saya/kami kumpulkan ini dapat diperbanyak dan atau dikomunikasikan untuk tujuan mendeteksi adanya plagiarisme.” Nama : Ruben Tota NPM : 1006805763 Mata Ajaran : Economic Development Judul Makalah/Tugas :The Impacts of Political Decision Making Process to Economic Development Tanggal : 11 April 2013 Dosen : Mr. Budi Susetyo Tandatangan : ( / / ) Abstract The main idea of the paper is that the involvement of politicians in economic development decision making process as measured by political influence on Indonesian economic system which associated with worse economic performance. The procedures are based on the analysis of outlier events and differentiate between several sources of risk (“Political, Economic, World market, Other”). This paper is supported by my empirical results, which indicate that political influence is the most important...
Words: 5587 - Pages: 23
...POWER AND WEALTH Individual Assignment “Power and wealth are intricately linked. Critically discuss drawing on at least two perspectives from the field of International Political Economy and practical examples from the global political economy” Introduction Robert Gilpin (1975) once defined International Political Economy as the “reciprocal and dynamic interaction in international relations of the pursuit of wealth and the pursuit of power”, allowing for the understanding of the relevance of power and wealth in the global economy. The study of International Political Economy provides an understanding of the interaction between the Market and the State, as well as the importance of their existence within countries around the world. In studying this particular area, it is important to familiarize oneself with the key elements and determinants which make up the global economy. Two factors which play an essential role in the global political economy are Power and Wealth. These are considered to be significantly linked, as they share many similar attributes, and many corporations and actively involved members of the State seek to achieve and/or maintain both aspects. Power is globally acknowledged as the ability to influence the behavior in other individuals, or the authority to make decisions. As illustrated by Dahl (1957), the intuitive idea of power allows for the understanding that “A has power over B to the extent that he can get B to do something that B would not otherwise...
Words: 3229 - Pages: 13
...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...
Words: 1478 - Pages: 6
...International Political Economy TITLE One cannot speak of International Political Economy without at least wading through the fundamental debate between the degree of importance of political structures and market forces in economic development. This dynamic serves as one of the basic foundations of the discipline itself as well as subsequent major schools of thought. Theories in International Economy have been founded on empirical observations on the economic conditions of a set of cases and are, as Robert Cox posits, critical of the circumstances from which certain politico-economic configurations emerge[1]. A contemporary theory that has surfaced in the last few decades is the developmental state theory which sought to explain the precipitous economic progress of East Asian states after the Second World War. Although the initial outcome of adopting developmental strategies among East Asian states have shown the theory’s potency as a basis for economic development policies, subsequent events especially the results of Southeast Asian attempts to pattern itself after developmental strategies have put into question the developmental state’s efficacy as a long-term arrangement. Specifically, the Philippines’ status as an “anti-developmental” state[2] serves as a channel for criticism of the developmental state theory through other IPE theories not only in terms of strategies and policies, but also in the deeper level of societal conflict and political structures. ...
Words: 2283 - Pages: 10
...* ------------------------------------------------- Text analysis provides some insight into media messages but only a critical political economy approach can adequately explain how the media work today * * Whoever Controls the media, controls the mind. This is an interesting quote by Jim Morrison that shows the power of the media and its messages at the present day. Media has played a huge role in the cultures it inhabited. Starting from the Printing Press, and then evolving into the radio, the television till the World Wide Web. The evolution of the mass media took many different shapes and with this evolution, it shaped our cultures and understandings differently, which caused its effects to be more influential. Throughout the history the mass media molded our ideologies by its messages and changed the way we look at things around us. “When we consume mass media, there are a lot of physical and mental activities going on” (Fourie, 2001, p.283). At the present time when we decide to sit and watch a movie, there are millions of messages being interpreted to us as audiences that shape how we speak, dress, and behave. It is believed that the media determines what we should know and how we should think. But the vital question is who controls the media and controls its messages, and how does the media work today. This essay will therefore attempt to discuss the different approaches that are used to analyze and evaluate media messages, and how these various approaches operate...
Words: 2372 - Pages: 10
...Berend (2000) – From Plan to Market, From Regime Change to Sustained Growth in Central and Eastern Europe * After the state socalism collapsed in Central and Eastern Europe in the early 1990s, the Washington consensus of 1989 (a broadly accepted set of criteria for a reform program) was adopted as a blueprint for the process of transformation. * Central elements: * Macro-economic stabilization (for countries with significant inflation and indebtedness) * New institutions * Legislation * Price and trade liberalisation * Radical privatization * Most of the “transformatology“ literature is based on the assumption that the elimination of deformed non-market economies, a restoration of market, and private ownership, paired with a laissez-faire free market system would automatically solve all major economic/social problems of the transforming countries. * The economic crisis within the Central and Eastern Europe area started much earlier – in the mid-late 1970s when growth slowed significantly and the terms of trade for the state socialist countries began to deteriorate (1973 first oil shock 20% decline, for some even 26-32%) Schumpeter’s theory of “structural crisis”: advancements in technology lead to decline of the old leading sectors and export branches based on old technology, generating wide-ranging slow-down and decline and causing an economic crisis even in rich, advanced countries. However, although rising new technology...
Words: 9961 - Pages: 40
...INTERNATIONAL-BUSINESS POLITICAL BEHAVIOR: NEW THEORETICAL DIRECTIONS JEAN J. BODDEWYN Baruch College THOMAS L. BREWER Georgetown University Alternative assumptions are advanced regarding the political nature of international business and the role of government as a factor of production, which firms must manage in their international valueadded chains. Based on a model oi business political behavior, various propositions are developed regarding the interactions among firm, industry, and nonmarket factors as well as the impact they have on various forms and intensities of political behavior, as affected by strategic objectives. Finally, the sfrategic-theorizing implications of such behavior are discussed in the context of the recent emphasis on resource-based models of strategy management. Research in international business (IB) is much more infused with a consideration of political factors than its domestic counterpart. Authors of IB studies have constantly mentioned and even emphasized government as a variable, rather than a constant or given, because international firms (exporters, importers, licensors, foreign direct investors, etc.) operate under a great variety of evolving political regimes that have an impact on these firms' entry, operation, and exit. When IB topics were first researched in a policy-oriented manner, Fayerweather (1969) stressed "the accommodation of interests and the resolution of conflict" between international firms and political actors at ...
Words: 10811 - Pages: 44
...Syllabus INTA 3301: International Political Economy Spring 2013 Class meets MWF 1:05-1:55, Instructional Center 109 Instructor: Michael Murphree Sam Nunn School of International Affairs 137 Habersham Building Email: michael.murphree@gatech.edu Office Hours: Monday 2:00-3:00, 137 Habersham, or by appointment TA: Kathleen Thompson Email: kthompson136@gatech.edu Political economy is the study of the role of government, politics and collective human behavior in shaping economic outcomes. This exciting field is both old and new. Political economy predates both political science and economics but only reemerged as a distinct field in the 1960s and 70s. It is concerned with understanding how political forces (broadly defined) shape and are shaped by economic ones (broadly defined). There are many research and policy-relevant questions addressed in this field: 1. What is globalization and is it really good for everyone? 2. Is free trade really the only “appropriate” means for international exchange? 3. Why are some countries or regions rich while others struggle? 4. How did the global casino of high finance emerge and what is its purpose? 5. Is economic performance the root of power or power the root of economic performance? 6. What should be the role of government in the economy? 7. Is there a best practice for government economic policy or are there many workable practices? 8. Why has Asia seemed to perform so well over the last...
Words: 1381 - Pages: 6
...Personal Consequences of Work in the New Capitalism discusses the effect of the flexible capitalist economy on the lives of workers during the 1990s. * Chapter 3 focuses mainly on flexibility. Sennett compares the flexibility of a human being to that of a tree, whereby, the tree has the capacity both to yield and to recover, from both the testing and the restoration. * Theoretically, a flexible person ought to have the same tensile strength as the tree. That is, the person should be able to adapt himself to changing circumstances and resist to tension. Sennett states that routine is an evil of the old capitalism, and that in recent times, the workplace has been made "flexible" by means of the restructuring of time (flex time, part time jobs, increased use of swing and graveyard type shifts, etc.). However, in practical and in today’s society, the practices of flexibility focus mainly on the forces that bend people. (Today, “Flexible capitalism” describes the goal of most modern companies, to be able to continuously change to fit the market. Companies no longer provide job descriptions or long term contracts, but rather an opportunity to compete in a winner-takes-all market.) * Many modern philosophers such as Locke and Hume have associated the bending aspect of flexibility with a person’s self powers of sensations. These sensations come from events happening in the world outside that elicits different responses, and hence bend the self from one way to another. ...
Words: 853 - Pages: 4
...A Criticism of Neoliberal Policies as a Method of Development * Neoliberalism is a philosophical theory that uses market value as the primary method of evaluating all aspects of life. Thus, the market is seen as the template for all other activities within a society, even those that involve an ethical dimension. (Paul Sukys, 2009) Thesis Statement: The pro-market principles that neoliberalism encourages do have benefits that, if managed realistically, are means of development and sustainment for countries worldwide. * “The neoliberal doctrine emphasizes competition over cooperation and in doing so encourages each individual to pursue his or her own well being, thus effectively creating "companies of one" who will sell whatever they possess (talents, property, abilities, education, and so on) in order to accumulate "points," in whatever way those points may be defined within a given system.” (Jason Read, 2008) * “Neoliberalization has not been very effective in revitalizing global capital accumulation, but it has succeeded remarkably well in restoring, or in some instances (as in Russia and China) creating, the power of an economic elite...” (David Harvey, 2007) * Neoliberalism is an ideology, method of governance, and a set of policies which originated out of classical liberalism and as a backlash to Keynesianism during the early 1980’s (Steger and Roy 2010:10-11) * Neoliberal intellectuals insisted that the ‘free market’ was a superior mechanism for...
Words: 1846 - Pages: 8
