POLI 464C-001: Problems in International Relations
CURRENT DEBATES ON (ECONOMIC) GLOBALIZATION
WINTER 2010 – University of British Columbia
Course Schedule: Tuesday, 9:30 – 12:20
Location: Buchanan D315
Instructor:
Yves Tiberghien
Email: yvestibe@interchange.ubc.ca
Office: Buchanan C 416
Office Phone: 822-4358
Office Hours: Tuesday, 1-2pm AND Wednesday, 1-3pm
(or by appointment)
Course Description:
Does Globalization represent a fundamental break in international politics ? How did it come about
and what was the role of politics? Has globalization changed the role and power of states? Have citizens
lost the ability to make crucial social choices through the domestic democratic process?
This seminar explores the range of current political debates on globalization. It seeks to unpack the
various components of globalization so as to identify their precise nature, origins, and diverse
consequences. The seminar also aims at separating out purely economic phenomena from social and
political processes. It emphasizes the role of politics, both at the domestic and international levels, and
identifies areas where political choice is crucial. This seminar thus probes the intersection between
international relations and comparative politics and tests theories from both sub-fields over a range of
critical issues of international political economy. There are no lectures and seminar participants are
encouraged to engage in lively debates over the different issues explored.
The course begins with a review of the core debates on economic globalization: trade, capital
flows, the emergence of multinational corporations, and the impact of information technology. In
particular, critical topics explored in this section include:
• The nature of globalization in the 1990s and its key components
• The similarities and differences between globalization in the 1990s and in the 1920s
• Broad globalization debates: convergence vs. national diversity
• The 2008 global financial crisis
The second part of the course focuses on the ongoing political debates about globalization: globalization
and social equity, globalization and environment, globalization and GMOs, globalization and democratic
deficit. This section also studies the emergence of anti-globalization NGOs and their impact. Furthermore,
the seminar analyzes globalization debates in the applied context of financial crises. In particular, the
seminar reviews the debates over the East Asian financial crisis and the 2008 global financial crisis and
how this crisis fits in the larger globalization debates.
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Prerequisites:
Enrolment is restricted to third and fourth year students. A background in International Relations
and basic International Economics is helpful, but is not formally required. To ensure high levels of
participation, the size of the seminar is restricted. Students are expected to be highly motivated and
willing to do some extra work.
Course Format:
The format of the course will be one seminar per week. Although short lectures may be included in
the course, the bulk of the seminar will be devoted to debates and discussions. For that reason, it is
critical that all students COME PREPARED. The most effective preparation consists in drafting
on a piece of paper the questions and arguments presented in each of the articles. It is also good to
think about your own position ahead of time.
Required Texts:
1. READING PACKAGE, available from the instructor. This package is a valuable collection of
key articles and book chapters taken from the best books on Globalization. It is something to
keep for the long-term as a great reference.
2. WEEKLY SUMMARY PAPERS (two of them, 4-5 pages each) written by fellow students
3. EMAILS AND WEBLINKS, as sent by the instructor.
Course Assignments, Due Dates, and Grading:
Think Piece 1 or Book Review (Due in class, Feb 9)
Think Piece 2 (Due in class, April 6)
Literature Review (One week only) (Due Monday noon)
Class Presentation of Literature Review
Class Participation (2 points per week, cut worst one)
20%
38%
10%
10%
22%
Rationale of the Assignments:
Given the complexity of the debates on globalization, readings are relatively heavier than
for an average Poli Sci course. As a counterpart, no additional personal research is required. The
assignments encourage you to take time to do the readings, think about the lectures, and develop a
personal interpretation of Globalization.
In addition, no exam is scheduled in this class. The emphasis will be entirely on student
responsibility. This gives you a great level of freedom in planning the timing and contents of your
assignments.
Both readings and class discussions are crucial components of the course and are
interrelated. It will be impossible to achieve a good course grade without completing the assigned
readings AND attending seminars.
Email List:
An email list has been set up for the purpose of the class. I plan to use it occasionally to pass
important announcements or to send relevant articles from newspapers such as the New York
Times, the Financial Times, the Nikkei Shimbun, or the Economist. If any of you, for whatever
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reason, would prefer not to be included in this email list, please contact me by email or talk to me
directly.
Class Participation
In a seminar, participation is the top priority. I will moderate discussions to ensure that
everyone has a chance to participate. Participation grades will be given both on quantity and
quality of interventions (but mostly quality).
I will encourage lively debates and confrontations of ideas.
Each week, you will have a participation grade between 0 and 2. These grades will add up
week after week.
Literature Review and Class Presentation: Responsibility for One Seminar
At each seminar, two students will be in charge of initiating the discussion. Every student
will sign up on the first seminar for one given week.
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For that given week, you will have two important responsibilities:
1. Write a 4-5 page paper that integrates the debate and readings of the week. The paper is due on
the Tuesday before the seminar before 5pm. The paper should only be turned in AS AN EMAIL
ATTACHMENT (WORD FILE). It will be sent to every student in the seminar by email. Other
students are required to read these 2 papers in addition to regular readings. The paper should have
the following 3 parts:
presentation of the key research question of the week (and why it matters)
review of the arguments presented in each of the readings of the week + strengths/weaknesses
presentation of a personal argument (which side are you taking)
2. Present your paper in 10 minutes in class and answer questions. You will also be the lead
discussant throughout the seminar that week, sharing responsibility with the instructor.
Student Ownership of the Course:
Maximizing the learning chances for the maximum of students is the primary goal of this course. It
is well-known that learning will be maximized only if students are involved in as many elements
of the course as possible. Therefore, I encourage any possible student involvement & any proposal.
Think Pieces: 4-6 pages for first one, 8-10 pages for second one
Think pieces have 2 major goals: first to develop a personal interpretation of IPE issues by
presenting your own argument and defending it in a few pages; second, to demonstrate your
mastery of the readings and facts presented in lectures. The questions are given by the instructor
(pick one from a choice of 3 for each think piece).
Your paper should be an essay. Specifically, the paper must do the following three things:
1. Present an analytical argument that is a clear answer to the question
2. Address some of the literature related to the question (possible answers)
3. Offer some compelling evidence to support your argument (taken from readings,
lectures, and class web links)
Specific formal requirements:
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1. Papers must be typed
2. You must footnote all references (quotes, use of evidence, etc…)
3. You must include a final bibliography
4. The essay must adhere to standard rules of English concerning spelling, grammar, and
vocabulary
5. Length: 4-6 pages (first), 8-10 pages (second), not including notes and bibliography
6. Font: 12 points (no 10 point allowed)
7. Margins: one-inch margins
8. Spacing: double-spaced
9. All written work submitted by students must be original. Work submitted for evaluation
must not be (or have been) submitted in other courses.
Critical Book Review: An Alternative to Think Piece #1 ONLY:
You have the option of replacing the first think piece (but not the second one) with a critical book review.
The book must be cleared with the instructor
LENGTH: 4-5 pages, double-spaced
CONTENTS: the book review MUST HAVE 3 PARTS:
- Part 1: Summary of the research question and of the argument, and theoretical framework of the book
- Part 2: Internal critical evaluation of the book:
• type of evidence used, quality of the evidence
• case selection
• how well does the evidence support the argument?
• strengths of the book and glaring weaknesses, how to improve it
- Part 3: A discussion of the contribution of the book to the larger debates on Globalization (citing some
of the readings of the class):
• what is the larger debate that is being addressed by this book?
• what is its main contribution?
• what are alternative views? With whom does the author agree and disagree?
• what is your personal view on the better side of the debate?
Grading Criteria for Think Pieces, News Analyses, Book Reviews, and Exam Essays:
1. Is the question answered?
2. Is there a personal argument presented in the first 10 lines and defended throughout the essay ?
3. Clarity, Organization, Structure (good outline, good transitions)
4. Integration of class material, facts, and readings to back up the argument
Penalties for Late Papers and Bonuses for Early Papers:
• Late think pieces are thoroughly discouraged. Extensions will not be granted except for illness or
extraordinary circumstances. In most cases, I will ask for a written document (either from a doctor
or from Arts Advising).
• The late penalty is 3 points per day (including week-end days), beginning the first morning after
the due date.
• NOTE: regarding the literature review and class presentation, no delay is allowed except for
documented medical reasons. The whole seminar depends on your timeliness in this assignment. It
should be the assignment with the highest priority in your schedule.
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READING LIST:
FOUNDATIONS - HISTORY AND THEORY
Week 1
Jan 5
Organizational Meeting
Week 2
Jan 12
Historical parallels
• Norman Angell. 1912. The Great Illusion. Introduction
• Polanyi, Karl. 1944. The Great Transformation (Boston: Beacon Press, 1985)
- Chapter 1 (the Hundred Years' Peace)
- Chapter 2 (Conservative Twenties, Revolutionary Thirties)
pp.3-30
- Chapter 6 (The Self-Regulating Market)
pp.68-76
- Chapters 12 and 13 (Birth of the Liberal Creed)
pp.135-162
- Chapter 21 (Freedom in a Complex Society)
pp.249-258
• Kindleberger, Charles P. The World in Depression 1929-1939, revised and enlarged edition (Berkeley:
University of California Press, 1986), 288-305.
Week 3
Jan 19
Unpacking globalization in the 1990s
• Garrett, Geoffrey.“The Causes of Globalization,” Comparative Political Studies 33, no. 6/7
(August/September 2000): 941-92.
• Rodrik, Dani. “How Far will International Economic Integration Go?” Journal of Economic Perspectives
14, no. 1 (Winter 2000): 177-86.
• Richard Peet. 2009. Unholy Trinity: the IMF, World Bank, and WTO. Read Chapter 2 (“Bretton Woods:
Emergence of a global economic regime”)
• ** Eichengreen’s review of Friedman’s Lexus an Olive Tree.
Week 4
Jan 26
Theoretical Debate: the role of politics in globalization
• Carr, Edward Hallett. 1939. The Twenty Years’ Crisis, 1919-1939. New York: Harper and Row.
- read: Chapter 4 (41-62) "The Harmony of Interests"
• Helleiner, Eric. 1994. States and the Reemergence of Global Finance: from Bretton Woods to the 1990s.
Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press
- read: Chapter 1 (1-22), Chapter 7 (146-168)
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• Yergin, Daniel and Joseph Stanislaw. 1998. The Commanding Heights: the Battle between Government
and the Marketplace that is Remaking the Modern World. New York: Simon Schuster.
- read excerpt (pp.212-220)
II. THEMATIC GLOBALIZATION DEBATES
Week 5
Feb 2
Globalization and Equity (focus on trade)
• Rodrik, Dani. 1997. Has Globalization Gone Too Far?. Washington DC: Institute for International
Economics (Chapter 1 + Conclusion)
• Wade, Robert Hunter. 2004. “Is Globalization Reducing Poverty and Inequality?”, World Development
32(4) 567-589.
• David Dollar, World Bank (in Weinstein 2005): “Globalization, Poverty, and Inequality”
Week 6
Feb 9
Globalization, Global Governance, and Democratic Deficit (BIG PICTURE)
• Nye, Joseph. 2001. "Globalization's Democratic Deficit: How to Make International Institutions More
Accountable" in Foreign Affairs July/August 2001 (5 pages)
• Falk, Richard and Andrew Strauss. 2001. "Toward Global Parliament" (pp. 212-220) in Foreign Affairs.
January/February 2001
• Bradford, Colin and Johannes Lin. 2007. Global Governance Reform: Breaking the Stalemate.
Washington DC: Brookings Institution. Introduction and Conclusion
• Kalher and Lake 2008: “Economic Globalization and Global Governance: Why So Little
Supranationalism?”
• Selected articles on the G20 process (to be sent over email)
** FIRST THINK PIECE DUE Today, FEBRUARY 9, IN CLASS
** READING WEEK / OLYMPIC BREAK – 2 weeks (no class Feb 16, Feb 23)
** Instructor away in China on Mar 2 – 2 combined classes on Mar 9
Week 7
Mar 9
Globalization of Capital and Democratic Deficit (MAI, Tobin Tax)
• Strange, Susan. 1998. Mad Money. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
- read Chapters 1 and 10
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• Patomaki, Heikki. 2001. Democratising Globalization: the Leverage of the Tobin Tax. London: Zed
Books. Preface and Introduction, Chapter 4 + selected pages: (xiv-xxiii and 110-136, 164-165, 171-172,
189-190, 203, 213-214
• Graham, Edward. 2000. Fighting the Wrong Enemy: Antiglobal Activists and Multinational Enterprises
(the story of the MAI): Chapters 1 and 2, pp 1-50 - OPTIONAL
• Selected articles to be sent over email on the resurgence of the Tobin Tax at the G20
Week 8: Globalization and Development: Is globalization hindering or facilitating development?
Mar 9
• Rodrik, Dani. 1999. The New Global Economy and Developing Countries: Making Openness Work.
Washington DC: Overseas Development Council. Chapter 1 and Conclusion: pp. 1-22 and 135-153
• Joseph Stiglitz, Globalization and Its Discontents, 2002. Chapter 3: “Freedom to Choose?”, pp 53-88
Week 9: Globalization and Global Financial Crises
Mar 16
DVD documentary in class
BACKGROUND on ASIAN CRISIS:
• Morris Goldstein. 1998. The Asian Financial Crisis: Causes, Cures, and Systemic Implications.
Washingon, DC: Institute for International Economics. Pp 1-5
• Stephen Haggard. 2000. The Political Economy of the Asian Financial Crisis. Washington: Institute for
International Economics
- read Chapter 1: pp.1-14
• Joseph Stiglitz. 2000. “What I learnt at the World Economic Crisis: the Insider”. The New Republic.
April 17
http://www.mindfully.org/WTO/Joseph-Stiglitz-IMF17apr00.htm
NARRATIVE ON 2008 CRISIS:
• Charles Morris. 2008. The Trillion Dollar Meltdown: Easy Money, High Rollers, and the Great Great
Credit Crash. Public Affairs
- Read Chapters 4, 5, and 6 (foreword recommended as well)
Week 10: Globalization and the Rise of China – Double Puzzle…
Mar 23
Jacques, Martin. 2009. When China Rules the World: the Rise of the Middle Kingdom and the End of the
Western World.
- Ch. 1. "The Changing of the Guard."
- Ch. 11. "When China Rules the World."
Branstetter, Lee and Nicholas Lardy. 2008. “China’s Embrace of Globalization,” pp. 633-682 in Brandt,
Loren and Thomas Rawski, ed. China’s Great Economic Transformation. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
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Additional web links and emails provided by instructor.
Week 11: Globalization and Genetically-Modified Organisms (GMOS)
Mar 30
Excerpts from Michael Ruse and David Castle. 2002. Genetically Modified Foods: Debating
Biotechnology. Prometheus Books.
Tiberghien, Yves. 2006. “The Battle for the Global Governance of Genetically Modified Organisms: the
Roles of the European Union, Japan, Korea, and China in a Comparative Context, Les Etudes du CERI,
Number 124 (April), Institut d’Etudes Politiques, Paris.
Chapters 1 and 2 in Taylor, Ian. 2007. Genetically-Engineered Crops: Interim Policies, Uncertain
Legislation. Hawthorn Food and Agricultural Products Press
Bernauer, Thomas and Erika Meins. 2003. “Technological Revolution Meets Policy and the Market:
Explaining Cross-National Differences in Agricultural Biotechnology Regulation. European Journal of
Political Research. 42 (5): 643-683
• Updated articles over email (including provocative article by Dick Taverne)
Week 12: Climate Change and Global Governance: Perspectives on the dilemma of the global
commons and the Copenhagen Conference
Apr 6
Does Globalization undermine the fight against climate change?
• Jeffrey Frankel. 2005. “The Environment and Economic Globalization.” In Weinstein 2005 (129-169)
• Special Issue from Global Environmental Politics, November 2008 – Intro+ 2 articles (US-Canada, EU)
- Harrison, Kathryn and Lisa McIntosh Sundstrom. "Introduction: The Comparative Politics of Climate
Change." Global Environmental Politics 7, no. 4: 1-18.
- Harrison, Kathryn. 2007. "The Road not Taken: Climate Change Policy in Canada and the United
States." Global Environmental Politics 7, no. 4: 92-117.
- Schreurs, Miranda and Yves Tiberghien. 2007. "Multi-Level Reinforcement: Explaining European
Union Leadership in Climate Change Mitigation." Global Environmental Politics 7, no. 4: 19-46.
• Selected articles on the 2009 Copenhagen Conference (including article by Jeffrey Frankel, “The
politically possible: How to achieve success in Copenhagen.” Dec 16)
Week 13 – Conclusion – The 2008 Global Financial Crisis, the G20, and the Future of the World
Apr 13
• Conclusion: Brawley, Mark. 2003. “Future scenarios, political backlash, or global governance?”, 195214 in The Politics of Globalization.
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• Joseph Stiglitz. 2005. “The Overselling of Globalization.”, Chapter 10 in Weinstein 2005
• Financial Times, Dec 1, 2009: “Retread Required” (New world order and reform of international
governance)
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Winter 2010-UBC
SIGN-UP SHEET
POLI 464C : IR SEMINAR on GLOBALIZATION
Instructor: Yves Tiberghien
*** ARE YOU CURRENTLY REGISTERED FOR THE COURSE? YES
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Where are you from? (optional):
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