Class notes
Global Political Economy - lecture 7-12 notes
- Course
- Institution
- Book
The document contains a summary of the lecture notes for the course Global Political Economy (lecture 7 to 12) from the Bachelor International Studies.
[Show more]
Connected book
Book Title:
Author(s):
- Edition:
- ISBN:
- Edition:
Seller
Follow
Sasch
Reviews received
Content preview
Global Political Economy BA2 S2 – lectures Part 2Lecture 7: Power, (pillage), and profit: The historical development of the world market
What is global political economy?
• Addresses world economy, its development, dynamics, effects.
- Assumes politics & economy may not be understood independently.
• Draws on multiple, sometimes rival theoretical traditions.
- Rejects key assumptions of economics, draws on certain insights.
• A multidisciplinary and in respects post-disciplinary field of study.
- Old, recent, and changing.
Focuses of contemporary global political economy
• Economic growth or Capital Accumulation.
- A key concern, not privileged.
• Welfare, fulfilment of needs, capabilities dev, ‘real freedom’.
- Inequalities as a key feature of social life.
• Environment, the ecosystem as the basis of economies.
- Colossal failure of conventional economic approaches.
Global Political Economy
• Affirms social, political foundations of the world economy.
- Historically grounded, attention to path dependence, agency.
• Recognizes states’ unique roles, contingent capabilities.
- Emphasizes increasingly transnational features of world market.
• Views world from different standpoints, perspectives.
- Does not embrace any one view of how world is, ought to be.
Attention to backstage aspects of the world market
• Attention not just on present but historical path to present.
- Historical expansion of world economy.
• Attention not just on world market but political basis.
- Formation of world market in relation to inter-state system, unequal rights
• Attention not just on trade but sites of production.
- Understanding that production for the world market involves living, breathing people
like you.
• Attention not just on production but also reproduction.
- Appreciating the reliance of the world economies and economies within it on unpaid,
informal work, social policy.
• Attention not just on the economy but on nature.
- Rethinking the world economy in a way that foregrounds sustainability, as opposed
to old way.
,Theoretical traditions
1. Liberal, neo-classical (economics) political economy
2. Critical political economy
3. ‘State centered’ | Nationalist | ‘developmentalist’
Analytical focuses and perspectives
1. Broadening performance analytics
• Not only/mainly growth => welfare, inequality, environment
2. Globalizing global political economy
• Diversity, world history, area studies, interdependence
3. Multi-dimensional awareness
• E.g., Location, time, status/class, gender, ethnicity, racism
Neoclassical Economics & GPE
• Markets based on voluntary exchanges.
- Human beings are rational, markets are efficient.
• Free trade produces mutual benefits.
- Efficient and equitable
- e.g., comparative advantage, factor-price equalization
• A world defined by market “frictions”.
- Constraints on trade, Gov’t policy, ‘distortions’
• Recent ‘discovery’ of politics, institutions
- Liberal institutionalist theory (e.g. Keohane)
Diversity with Neo-classical political economy
• Champions of capitalism, “free-trade” and markets
- E.g., Baghwati and Neoliberals
• Keynesian and post-Keynesian
- E.g., J. Stiglitz and Dani Rodrik
• New Institutionalism
- E.g., Douglas North, Robinson and Acemoglu
Critical Political Economy
• Exploitive nature of capitalist social relations
- World economy founded on unequal exchange, that is taking place against a
background of domination and dispossession. Enrichment of some, at the expense of
others.
• Countries’ structural modes of integration
- Difficult to overcome, limited mobility
• ‘Combined and uneven development’
, - Internal processes of exploitation
- External processes of dependence
Diversity in critical political economy
• Marx
- Class struggle, exploitation, consciousness, revolution
• Weber
- Class status and party as shaping opportunity, life chances
• Polanyi
- Origins of market-pattern across time as an elite project
State-centered perspectives
• States in the world economy
- Assumes inseparability of politics & economy but….
- Influence of neoclassical economics
- State centrism
• Theories of state behaviour – what they do and why
- Two-level games (domestic/international concerns)
- E.g. states motivated by a singular ‘national interest’
• Mix of “markets” and political institutions
- Democratic, authoritarian regimes, etc.
A plurality of perspectives, normative orientations
• Neoclassical economics, orthodox/heterodox etc.
- Keynesianism, ‘New Institutional Economics’
• Old and new varieties of state theory, social science institutionalism
- ‘Effective states’
• Critical political economy, including Marx, Weber, Polanyi, Harvey
- Critical because developed through critique
• Perspectives on issues: growth, welfare, inequality, ecology
• Intersectionality: place, sex/gender, ethnicity, racism, other…
Historical capitalism and trade (1431-2020)
Theorizing the historical development of capitalism
• One world economy
• Competing narratives, competing theoretical traditions
, • Multi-dimensional focuses within these stories
• Advantages and drawbacks of theoretical pluralism
Development of the world economy or world market
• Trade
• Finance
• Production
• Labor flows/limits
• Interstate system, political aspects
• Hegemonic cycles, world economic orders
• 500–, 70–, 40 year views
• Phases of the world market
‘Economic globalization’ – Realization of world market
• Expansion, intensification of cross-border ties
• Increased integration and interdependence
• Facilitated by politics and institutional change
• Facilitated by advances in transport, ICT, financial instruments
• Limits on scope of national economic management
When did globalization start?
• 1990s?
• 1930s, 1945?
• 1870s-1914
• 1431, 1492
• Conquest, colonialism, capitalism => formation of world market
Phases of Historical Capitalism up to 20th C
• Markets trace to antiquity
• Capitalism’s origins
- First in Europe, Europe-centered
• Long distance merchant trade
- Mercantilism
• Colonial expansion
- Conquest, exploitation
• ‘Imperialism’ and its meanings
• Industrial capitalism
- Massive uptick in productivity
• Post WWII Development project
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller Sasch. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $6.44. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
53340 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy study notes for 14 years now