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Polsci 222 full summary
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- Stellenbosch University (SUN)
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Polictical science 222: Global political economyWeek 1:
Lecture 1
What is GPE?
- Interplay of economics and politics in world affairs
o Primary question: what drives and explains events in the world economy.
- Also referred to as International political economy (IPE) – IPE and GPE often
used interchangeably
- IPE is also a multidisciplinary method of enquiry
- 3 dimensions
o Political [Use of power of Individuals, domestic groups, NGOS and
transactional corporations all have decisions that impact on economy, and
this interchangeably affects the Political system]
o Economic [how scarce resources are distributed in markets among
individuals, groups, and nation states]
o Societal [many social groups within a state who share identities, norms and
they have ideas that can cause tension but NB for shaping economy]
- Rather than using a single political, economic, or sociological approach, IPE/GPE
uses a variety of theories and analytical tools= > nuanced understanding of the
interrelationships between the state, market, and society in different countries.
- IPE has 4 levels of analysis that will be discussed below
The evolution of GPE
o Early interactions (Pre-18th Century):
• Ancient Trade Routes
• Mercantilism (16th – 18th Centuries) [increase power through restrictive trade
practices such as limit imports and have high exports= MAXIMIZE SURPLUS]
o Rise of Nation States (18th-19th Century):
• Treaty of Westphalia (1648)
• Industrial Revolution (late 18th- 19th centuries)
• Colonialism NB
o 20th Century Transformations:
• World Wars and the Great Depression
• Bretton Woods System (1944) a collective international currency exchange
rate regime based on the US dollar
• Decolonization
o Rise of Globalisation (Late 20th Century - Present):
• Globalisation [How trade in the international economy has become
interconnected]
• Neoliberalism [market orientated reform policies, study of the markets,
economic liberalism]
, • Financialization
o Present and Future Challenges: ALL NB
• Rise of emerging economies – e.g., China and India
• Debates on globalisation – free trade and protectionism
• Technological advancements
• Climate Change
- Understanding the evolution of GPE's is crucial for analysing the complex
economic and political factors shaping our world today
- helps us to examine and understand various issues: e.g. international trade,
global development, financial crises, and the role of different actors (states,
corporations, international organisations) in the international economy
Four levels of analysis
- Political scientist Kenneth Waltz, argues that explanations for causes of
international conflict are in different analytical levels of increasing complexity,
ranging from individual behavior and choices (the individual level) to factors
within states (the state/societal level), to the interconnection between states (the
interstate level).
- Recent introduction of a fourth level
- The levels are not mutually exclusive, normally analyze them together
1. Global level
Broadest, most comprehensive level of analysis
global economic constraints and opportunities resulting from changes in
technology, global markets, and the natural environment.
o Global level factors cannot be traced to the actions of any one state, group
of states, individual, or group.
o For example:
• Climate change is forcing a shift to new energy sources, thereby
potentially hurting countries reliant on oil and coal while rewarding
countries that invest in solar power and other forms of renewable
energy.
2. Interstate level
Analyze the how the relationship between states affects global outcomes
For example:
o Alliances and the balance of power (distribution of power) between states
profoundly shape what actions individual states can take and what threats
they face.
o The presence of hegemon (a dominant power) gives us global public
goods like security, free trade, and a top currency, while the rise of new
powers such as China can lead to severe conflict with established powers.
o States that weakly regulate transnational corporations and established
themselves as tax havens undermine the efforts of other states to sustain
welfare programs and distribute a greater share of national income to
, workers. Thus, the inability of states to cooperate on tax and regulatory
policies may spur a global “race of the bottom”
3. State-societal level.
Analyze how bureaucratic decisions making and the type of government
shape outcomes.
Look at how lobbying, electoral pressures, culture, and a country’s class
structure determine foreign policy actions.
For example:
o US farmers have considerable political power, despite being few in number,
because each state gets two senators, magnifying the influence of less
populated agricultural states. Therefore, the US congress gives large
subsidies to American growers of cotton, corn, and other crops and
maintains significant tariffs and quotas on imported agricultural
commodities, all of which hurt farmers in poor developing countries.
o Deregulated financial markets (due to political power of wall street) and a
cultural belief that the American dream includes owning a home created
systemic pressure to extend mortgages to subprime borrowers, laying a
foundation for the global financial crisis.
o Whether a country has a parliamentary or presidential system affects
government stability and the ease of negotiating trade agreements
4. Individual level
What individual policymakers do to cause or influence events.
Try to understand the psychology, goals, and ideology of state leaders.
Not all leaders react the same way to the same events and information.
For example:
o In the worldview of former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan and
other acolytes of Ayn Rand, markets will self-regulate; thus, these
policymakers paid scant attention to inherent systemic risks in financial
systems that can trigger national and global economic crises.
o The religious worldview of Iran’s leaders and their threat perceptions shape
Iran’s actions in the Middle East. Similarly, ISIS’s millenarian beliefs shape
how it fights.
o The psychology of Trump profoundly influences how the United States acts.
U.S. interests and strategies in the world reflect the president’s narcissistic,
aggressive, and impulsive disposition
The four levels of analysis help us organize our thoughts about the different causes
of, explanations for, and solutions to a particular problem. Each level pinpoints a
distinct but limited explanation for why something occurred.
, Lecture 2
Susan Strange: The Godmother of GPE
- High Praise for Susan Strange (1923 -1998)
- “Susan Strange was arguably Britain’s most influential scholar of world politics in
the last quarter of the twentieth century. Today, she is widely recognized for
having put the field of International Political Economy (IPE) on the map in the
UK” – London School of Economics (LSE)
- “Her most important contribution to the field of International Relations lies in her
promotion of International Political Economy…”- William Coleman and Alina
Sajed
- “She was almost single-handedly responsible for creating ‘international political
economy’….”- Robert Brown
Key contributions:
- Power dynamics, highlighting the role of markets.
o “it is power that determines the relationship between authority and market.”
o Markets cannot play a dominant role in the way in which a political economy
functions unless allowed to do so by whoever wields power and possesses
authority.
o Difference between a private-enterprise, market-based economy and a state-
run, command-based economy lies not only in the amount of freedom given
by authority to the market operators, but also in the context within which the
market functions.
o The context reflects a certain distribution of power.
Whether it is stable or unstable, booming, or depressed, reflects a series
of decisions taken by those with authority.
Thus, it is not only the direct power of authority over markets that matters;
it is also the indirect effect of authority on the context or surrounding
conditions within which the market functions.
- Wanted to look economic aspects of power and politics.
o When studying the political economy, it is not enough to ask, “where the
authority lies- who has power”. It is important to ask why they have it- what is
the source of power.
o Is it the possession of great wealth, the command of coercive force?
o Or is it moral authority, power derived from the proclamation of powerful ideas
that have wide appeal, are accepted as valid and give legitimacy to the
proclaimers, whether politicians, religious leaders, or philosophers?
o In many economies, those who exercise authority, who decide how big a role
shall be given to markets, and the rules under which the markets work will
derive power from all three sources- from force, wealth, or ideas.
o In others, different group derive different sorts of power from different source,
have different powerbases and will be acting upon the political economy at
the same time but possibly in opposed directions
o Impossible to arrive at the result
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