International Political Economy--
Alternative Perspective on IPE
Professor Yu Xunda
2013. 05
Suggested Readings
 Barnara Ehrenreich and Arlie Russell Hochschild. Global Woman: Nannies,
Minds and Sex Workers in the New Economy. New York: Henry Holt, 2002
 Cynthia Enloe. Globalization and Militarism: Feminists Make the Link, MD:
Rowman and Littlefield, 2007.
 Garnet. “Bibliography—Gender in International Political Economy.”
 Gender Action. http://www.genderaction.org/
 Margaret Keck and Kathryn Sikkink. Activist without Borders: Norms and
Identity in World Politics. New York: Columbia University Press, 1998.
 Nina Tannenward. The Nuclear Taboo: The United States and the Non-Use of
Nuclear Weapons since 1945.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007.
 Alexander Wendt. “Anarchy Is What States Make of It: The Social Constitution
of Power Politics,” International Organization, 46(Spring 1992), pp. 391-425.
 WIDE.Globalising Gender Equality and Social Justice.
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Content
5.1
5.2
Views of Conflict and Cooperation
Actors Spread New Norms and ‘Socialize’ States
5.3
Tools and Concepts of Analysis
5.4
Women Matter; Gender matters
5.5
5.6
Liberal Feminisms
Feminist Critiques of Mercantilist Perspectives
5.7
Structuralist Feminism
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Two alternative Perspectives
Two alternatives or complements to the 3
mainstream IPE theories:
Constructivism
Feminist theory
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Constructivism
Focuses:
the role of ideas,
norms,
and discourse in shaping outcomes
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5.1 Constructivism-- Views of Conflict and Cooperation
 The state of international society:
Anarchy is what state make of it.
 Conflict or cooperation is a product of
actors’ different values, beliefs, and
interests.
 A. States’ behaviors do not simply reflect
the material distribution of power.
E.g. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
 B. States, sometimes, do not seem to
reflect a cost-benefit calculation or some
other kind of rational self-interest.
E.g. Powerful states in Somalia./ Nuclear
taboo
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5.2 Constructivism-- Actors Spread New Norms and ‘Socialize’ States
 Social forces: TANs, epistemic communities, and IOs.
 Function: can generate and spread values, norms, and ideas that change the way the
world work.
TANs
 Definition: ”those actors working internationally on an issue, who are bound together by
shared values, a common discourse, and dense exchanges of information and services.”
 Function: using testimonies, symbolism, and name-and -shame campaigns to create a
shared belief among political elites and social actors.
 E.g : the International Campaign to Ban Landmines
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5.2 Constructivism-- Actors Spread New Norms and ‘Socialize’ States
Epistemic Communities
 Definition: ”professional with recognized expertise and competence in a particular domain
and authoritative claim to policy-relevant knowledge within that domain or issue area.”
 Function: providing political elites with advice, technical explanations and policy options.
 E.g : Peter Haas and the ban of CFCs, Chicago Boys
IOs
 Function: they have a role in shaping what a state is (its identity), wants (its interests),
and does (its policies).
 E,g: ICRC, WB, UN
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5.3 Constructivism--Tools and Concepts of Analysis
4 basic assumptions of constructivism applied to IPE:
1. Ideas, values, norms, and identities of individuals,
groups, and states are socially constructed.
2. Ideas and values are social forces that are as
important as military or economic factors.
3. Conflict and cooperation are products of values and
beliefs.
4. Change can be explained by examining changes in the
values and beliefs of actors over time.
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5.3 Constructivism--Tools and Concepts of Analysis
4 concepts/tools of constructivism to explain outcomes in IPE:
Framing
-- E.g. Blood Diamond
Problematization
--E.g. the money-laundering
problem talked by OECD
Discourse analysis
--E.g. the clash of civilization
Tracing the life cycle of ideas
--E.g. the life cycle of ideas about preservation
of the environment and natural resources.
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Feminist Contributions to IPE
Feminists argue that every area of IPE—from the structure of
state power to the allocation of political and economic resources —is
impacted by gendered processes.
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5.4 Women Matter, Gender matters
 Gender analysis takes into account not just sex but
gender as the socially constructed norms.
 The neglect to women in policy design, not only has
a negative impact on women, but also always works
to the detriment of the policy’s overall objectives
as well.
 Gender-influenced things, including the roles
assigned to men and women, our gendered
resources and obligations, the thing we buy, where
we work......shape markets and affect the
distribution of power and resources in society.
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5.5 Liberal Feminisms
Classical liberal
feminists
(libertarian feminists)
Other liberal
feminists
most concerned with individual freedoms, freedom from
coercion, and “self-ownership”for men and women,
especially, the de jure inequality.
tend to support individual rights and free markets, but argue
that men hold a disproportionate share of power in society.
----liberal feminists stress than the level
of political rights that women enjoy in a
country, along with their overall
treatment, have important impacts on a
country’s overall economic health.
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5.6 Feminist Critiques of Mercantilist Perspectives
 Questioning the assumptions in the mercantilist and realist traditions.
 Traditionally, the study of IPE has privileged macro-level structures.
Feminism begin their analysis at household or community level.
 Economically, they pointed out that state-centric IPE scholars have
over-looked the informal and non-wage-based economy in which
women work.
 Politically, they have redefined the concept of security, showing the
way in which the international relations are gendered and making
women’s often invisible roles more apparent.
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5.7 Structuralist Feminism
 Marxist feminists challenge the idea that
capitalism benefits women in almost any
instance.
Gender is a source of oppression that is
facilitated by the capitalist system.
 There is a link between the power
mechanisms that determine international
relations and those that determine race, class,
and gender relations.
 The fact that women and people of color
make up a disproportionate number of the
poor in most countries, is a result of
systematic exploitation in capitalist economy.
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Conclusion
 The two alternative perspectives direct our focus to actors and forces that
have been overlooked in the liberal, mercantilist, and structuralist
perspectives.
 They suggest that states and markets are not the only shapers in the world;
other actors like individuals, women, and social movements profoundly
influence global policies and struggles.
 They also remind us that the study of IPE cannot be divorced from moral
and ethical questions.
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Discussion Questions
 Do you think constructivism should get more attention as a social science
theory? Why or Why not.?
 How might structuralists feminists respond to companies that outsource
labor to sweatshops in poor countries.
 Why do feminists argue that the debates about national security need to
consider gender? Do you see?
 What criticisms can made of constructivist? Do constructivists
underestimate the importance of material power in affecting global issue?
 What tools do we have to measure the briefs of norms actually an actors
outlook and actions.
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Thank You !