International Political Economy

• Credit value: 30 credits at Level 7
• Tutor: Dr David Styan 
• Assessment: a 500-word seminar log (10%), 2500-word essay (40%) and two 1000-word take-home essays (50%)

This module will provide you with a foundation in international political economy (IPE). We will introduce you to literature, concepts and debates in both international economics and the expanding field of IPE, within the academic discourse and discipline of international relations. We will use a historical approach to understanding global political economy to highlight the differences between traditional international relations theories and those in IPE which seek to make sense of the growing forms of cross-border interdependence.

By the end of this module, you will:

• have a solid, historically grounded understanding of the shifting relationship between states and markets, and of the growth of trade and movements of capital, labour and peoples over the past two centuries
• understand concepts underpinning classical and neo-classical approaches to selected issues in international economics
• be familiar with literature and arguments concerning: the nature and role of international trade; the rise, role and power of multinational companies; and the evolution and debates surrounding the development of international institutions involved in ‘regulating’ the global economy
• understand, and be in a position to challenge, the assumptions implicit in policy debates relating to the appropriate levels of government for the exercise of political and economic power, ways of measuring the impact of cross-border interdependence, and constraints on the development of effective international regimes.