Aims

This module introduces students to the field of International Political Economy. This introduction will examine the history of contemporary processes of production, exchange, and accumulation; theories of political economy as they inform the study of international relations; and various themes and issues at the global scale that animate the organisation of political and economic life.

Outline Of Syllabus

Topics covered are likely to vary from year to year, depending on international events. The following outline should indicate a framework for these topics.

1. What is political economy?
1a. States and markets.
1b. Land, labour, and money.
1c. Commodification.
1d. Welfare and development
1e. Accumulation and exploitation.
2. What are the political economic foundations of International Relations?
2a. Colonialism
2b. Inequality
2c. The modern state and the modern state system.
2d. Modern international relations and the postcolonial context.
3. The IPE of production.
3a. Corporations as international actors.
3b. Global value chains.
3d. Consumption.
3e. Reproduction and social reproduction.
4. The IPE of circulation.
4a. Global markets as social relations.
4b. Finance and financialisation.
4c. Migration.
5. The IPE of accumulation.
5a. Institutions, governance, and governmentality.
5b. Capital.
6. The IPE of crisis and the crisis of IPE.
6a. Financial crises.
6b. Crises of reproduction: depletion.
6c. Environmental crises.
6d. Political crises.

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

Lectures will provide the frameworks for and examples of best practices for outcomes 1 and 2. Seminar activities will be organised to allow students to practice, develop, and demonstrate achievement towards outcomes 3, 4, and 5, especially in relation to the development of research plans and presentation of preliminary findings regarding the consequences of global development in the local context (planning and presenting the findings for the research essay).

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The research plan will be explained in the context of seminars and will be an exercise in research design and planning. Templates will be provided. These will be related to skills outcomes 4 and 5, especially regarding research, written communication, and group work.

The research essay will be a 3000-word short essay reporting findings from the research described in the research plan. The essay will apply conceptual and theoretical material covered in the module to local – i.e., in Newcastle – examples of the relations between forces and processes of the international political economy and everyday life. It will assess progress towards knowledge outcomes 3, 4, and 5 and skills outcomes 3, 4, and 5.