This course introduces students to International Political Economy (IPE), the field which explores the interactions between the global economy and power. Adopting an historical perspective on the rise of global capitalism, the course proceeds to explore contemporary challenges to globalisation, including trade wars, economic conflict between the US and China, new development strategies in the global south, protectionist industrial strategies, the 2008 global financial crisis and the emergence of a more multi-polar, regionalised and fragmented global order.

The course involves 10 classes taking place over 10 weeks. Each class involves a 1-hour lecture and a 1-hour seminar.

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Review Essay, 3000 words (60%)

Quizzes (20%) [there will be 4 quizzes and students' best 2 quizzes will contribute to their final grade]

Referee Report, 500 words (10%)

Participation (10%) 

Adjustments and/or alternative modes of assessment will be available for students with disabilities that hinder attendance and/or public speaking.

The course aims to introduce students to the discipline of IPE and to equip them with its main analytical tools in order to understand and explain the highly interactive nature of international economic and political processes. It is intended as an advanced-level introduction that will cover the theoretical and empirical terrain of the discipline, focussing on both classical works and cutting-edge research conducted by key IPE scholars. The course will not only survey these scholarly debates but also relate them to the empirical events and policy discussions shaping the political landscape of our interdependent world.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ Describe how the field of IPE studies the interaction between the global economy and political power at the international, regional and domestic scales

■ Apply classical theories from IPE to contemporary dynamics in the global economy and international state system

■ Evaluate to what extent globalisation is coming under challenge in the present era, drawing upon historical materials, theoretical frameworks and relevant case studies

■ Construct credible analyses of the changing balance of international economic and geopolitical power, drawing upon cases from the global south and global north

■ Formulate and compose reasoned and persuasive arguments which advance understanding of the contemporary politics of globalization