International Relations Major (Level 1)
International Relations Minor (Level 1)
Politics Dual Honours (Level 1)
Politics Major (Level 1)
Politics Minor (Level 1)
Politics Single Honours (Level 1)
Introduction to Global Political Economy
This course will provide you with an introduction to the key issues, history, and perspectives in the field of Global Political Economy [GPE]. This module is about the structure, it is a &«big picture&ª module that serves as an introduction to the study of GPE.
GPE is a relatively new area of inquiry for analysing International Relations in combination with Political Economy. GPE goes beyond the study of the major global financial and economic actors such as the G-20, IMF and the World Bank to look also at transnational processes such as drug trafficking, illegal arms trade, smuggling goods and people, and laundering the money made from them, their financial products, which are estimated to amount to a trillion dollars annually. It is hard to imagine a world without GPE because the mutual interaction of International Politics and the global economy is today widely appreciated and the subject of much academic research and applied policy analysis. This module includes both mainstream and radical approaches to analysing the global political economy. It is organized in several key parts corresponding to the different kinds of languages/ discourses with which you need to become familiar. In the first part, the module introduces some historical background on the development and elements in the global economy and the perspectives used to makes sense of things. It looks at the world system as a whole, examining the assumptions of different perspectives on political economy. In the second part, we will examine key perspectives and related concepts, models, and empirical evidence. Here we will explain terms such as the balance of payments and comparative advantage and study the discourse of mainstream political economy. The third part of the module builds on the first two as we turn to a critical assessment of the spread of global political economy relationships as experienced in key issue areas. In other words, the module will move from more abstract and broad themes to specific issues.
As this module is designed as an introduction to studying the global political economy, we assume that students do not already have any background in political economy. The module aims to demonstrate how an understanding of GPE can help students to make sense of the current global financial crisis, global news, business investments, and government policies $úby presenting the theories, institutions, and relationships found in GPE in simple ways that still capture the complexity of the global issues and intellectual problems addressed.
Identify and explain patterns of development in the global political economy since the end of the WWII. will be achieved by assessments: 1, 2
Critically assess the analyses of a range of issues in the global economy offered by the different approaches in the field of global political economy
will be achieved by assessments: 1, 2
80 hours: preparation for ten tutorials, including for oral presentation
50 hours preparation for 2 hour unseen examination
Tutorial assessment is awarded using the following general criteria: preparation; contribution to group discussion, capacity to take into account the view of the others; relevance of contributions; teamwork; oral presentation. Approximately one-third of the tutorial mark comes from individual or group presentation, another one-third from contribution to group work organised in the class by the tutor, and the remaining one-third from the frequency and quality of weekly contributions.
a two-hour unseen exam based on the module as taught.
This document is the definitive current source of information about this module and supersedes any other information.