INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
P151 393-01 (Springl998)
Meetings: Tue & Thur 5.00-6.15 pm (Room 237 (AWC)
Lecturer: Daniel K. Gibran, Ph.D. Office: GRD 220
Office No.: 963-5650 Office Hours:M-F 1.00 3.30 pm
General Description and Scope of Course
This is an upper division course in Political Science that is open to all majors of the University. Students
majoring in Political Science and Business, however, will find this course to be extremely useflil and
academically rigorous. It will focus on the historical development and conceptual foundations of
International Political Economy. Further, emphasis will be placed on the origins and workings of the
international economic system, the multinational corporation, the debt crisis, theories of development and
underdevelopment, the balance of payments and international trade. Additionally, students will be
introduced to epistemological concerns and to the major theoretical frameworks for understanding
international political economy. Extensive readings from the current literature will also form a part of the
scope of this course.
Text Required:
Robert Isaac, Managing World Economic Change: International Political Economy, Prentice
Hall Publishers, 1995.
Highly Recommended:
Joan Spero and Jeffrey Hart, The Politics of International Economic Relations (5tb ed.), St.
Martin's Press, 1997. Thomas Lairson and David Skidmore, International Political Economy:
The Struggle for Power and Wealth, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publishers, 1993.
George Crane and Abla Amawi (eds.), The Theoretical Evolution of International Political
Economy, Oxford University Press, 1997. Don Tapscott, The Digital Economy: Promise and
Perils in the Age of Networked Intelligence, McGraw-Hill Publishers, 1996. Jeffrey Frieden
and David Lake (eds.), International Political Economy: Perspectives on Global Power and
Wealth, St. Martin's Press, 1995.
Topical Outline and Suggested Readings
1. Introduction to the Discipline of International Political Economy (IPE) Open
Lecture; Readings: Required Text, Chapter One, pp.16-38.
2. History of and theoretical approaches to International Political Economy Open
Lecture; Readings: Contending Perspectives on IPE (Handout)
3. Origins and development of the Bretton Woods System of Monetary Relations Open
Readings: Required Text, pp.77-95.
4. Management in the Post-Bretton Woods Era
Open Lecture; Readings: Spero and Hart, pp.24-48.
5. The World Trade System
Lecture;
(a) Origins
(b) Theories of International Trade
(c) GATT and the Uruguay Rounds
(d) Interpretations and Explanations
Readings: Required Text, Chaptcrs Four, pp. 114-147; Spero, pp.82-86.
6. The Multinational Corporation and Direct Foreign Investment
(a) Characteristics of the multinational corporations
(b) The role of the multinational corporation reconsidered
(c) Third World governments and the multinational corporations
(d) Characteristics of Direct Foreign Investment
Readings: Required Text, Chapter Nine pp.264-284; and Handouts from
Lecturer.
7. Structuralist Approaches and Issues in International Political Economy
(a) A Structural Theory of Imperialism
(b) Structural Conflict in International Trade and Development
(c) The Crisis of Uneven Development
(d) The Debt Crisis
Readings: Required Text, Chapter Six pp. 173-201; and Handouts from
Lecturer.
8. Contemporary Issues in International Political Economy
(a) Environmental Protection and Free Trade
(b) Economic Relations in the Post-Cold War Era
(c) The Persistence of Poverty, Underdevelopment, and Hunger
(d) The Future of the American Empire
Readings: Crane and Amawi, pp. 253-264; Frieden and Lake, pp.493-505.
Evaluation
Students' grades will be determined by the Lecturer's assessment of written work, mid-term and final
examinations. The following weights have been assigned to these three parameters:
1. One Extended Essay of 2,000 to 2,500 words due 31 Mar/98......30%
2. A written mid-term examination of three questions ........................30%
3. An extensive written final examination ...........................................40%
Attendance
All students are expected to attend classes on a regular basis (please refer to TSUs Undergraduate Catalog,
1995-97, p.31).
Assignments
Required readings from Text and other sources are compulsory. Students will be required to provide a twopage summary of four extra-textual assignments. These will be graded and used in the overall assessment
of final grade determination.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is strictly prohibited. The relevant sections in the Student Handbook apply.