POL 346 - International Political Economy

This course introduces students to key conceptual and substantive issues in international political economy (IPE). We will first develop a theoretical understanding of IPE by surveying its major approaches and actors. We will critically engage with issues such as imperial trade and monetary relations, postwar currency arrangements, financial and currency crises, the changing landscape of production and trade, and the role of the World Bank, the WTO, and the International Monetary Fund in managing the global economy. In the final section of the course, we will contemplate the future of the international economic order by interrogating phenomena such as the 2008 financial crisis, global supply chains, corporate power, the rise of China, and the climate crisis.

Unit(s): 1
Group Distribution Requirement(s): Distribution Group II
Prerequisite(s): POL 230 or POL 240
Instructional Method: Conference
Grading Mode: Letter grading (A-F)
Group Distribution Learning Outcome(s):

Evaluate data and/or sources.
Analyze institutions, formations, languages, structures, or processes, whether social, political, religious, economic, cultural, intellectual or other.
Think in sophisticated ways about causation, social and/or historical change, human cognition, or the relationship between individuals and society, or engage with social, political, religious or economic theory in other areas.