Russell Alan Williams/POSC 3250/Winter 2010-2011
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POSC 3250
International Political Economy
Winter 2010-2011
Tuesday & Thursday, 2:00-3:15
SN2036
www.mun.ca/posc
INSTRUCTOR:
Dr. Russell Alan Williams (Assistant Professor, Political Science)
Office: SN2031
Office hours: Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 12:00-1:00pm (Or by appointment)
Phone: 737-4402
Email: russellw@mun.ca
DESCRIPTION AND LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
This course introduces upper-level undergraduate students to the study of International Political Economy
(IPE). The course begins with an examination of the major theoretical frameworks in IPE: Realism,
Liberalism, Historical Structuralism, and Feminism. The course also touches on specific approaches
within each of these frameworks, such as, hegemonic stability theory, regime theory, and Gramscian
analysis. The course then applies these frameworks to key topics in IPE; including the global monetary
and financial order, international trade, foreign investment, multinational corporations, foreign debt, and
international development. By the end of the course students should:
 Be able to discuss current issues in international political economy using the appropriate language
and theoretical tools.
 Be able to ‘frame’ some issues, analyzing them within the relevant theoretical and political context.
 Have improved their research essay writing skills - students will be required to write a research
paper which tests theoretical claims made by IPE scholars.
COURSE ORGANIZATION:
There will be one lecture and one split lecture-seminar each week. Lectures will highlight key concepts in
the field. In the second half of each Thursday class, students will be broken into smaller groups to discuss
a key “controversy” in IPE. Each group will be expected to report back on their conclusions. To
participate effectively in these exercises, students will be expected to have read the Class Discussion Reading.
TEXTBOOKS:
 Theodore H. Cohn, Global Political Economy: Theory and Practice, (Addison Wesley Longman, 5th
edition, 2009).
 Additional articles specified in the outline - Your Memorial email account must be functioning to receive the Class
Discussion Readings
COURSE EVALUATION:
Mid-term exam (Feb 15 - in class)
Essay Outline (Feb 17 - in class)
Essay (March 22 - in class)
15%
5%
40%
Final exam
Class Participation
30%
10%
ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADING:
ESSAY (40%) Due in Class, March 22 (Late Penalty is 5% per day)
Students are to write an essay in which they apply an IPE perspective or theory (e.g., realism, liberalism,
historical structuralism, or feminism) to a topic. Students are free to refine and narrow their topic to an
issue of their choosing; however, general topic areas normally appropriate for this course include:
 Global monetary relations
 The global financial architecture
 Foreign debt and the “debt crisis”
 The challenges facing the global trade regime
 The impact of trade agreements on states and societies
 Multinational corporations and foreign direct investment
 Obstacles to development
 The impact of globalisation on labour
 The role of Civil Society actors in IPE
 Gender and IPE
 IPE and environmental cooperation
 Resource dependency
Each paper must meet the following requirements:

The paper must test a theoretical argument raised by IPE scholarship against the topic chosen by the student

The paper should be between 3,000 to 4,000 words

The paper should make use of a minimum of ten separate sources in its citations

The paper should be formatted in the style of a formal research paper - please consult a style guide if you are
unfamiliar with writing research papers. (E.g. http://journals.library.mun.ca/mp_styleguide.pdf)
Please remember, a good research paper has three core elements. It has a thesis, which introduces the
core argument of the paper. It develops that core argument throughout the body of the paper through the
use of evidence – drawn from a minimum of TEN research sources. It should also have a conclusion
which reiterates the central argument of the paper and sums up how the evidence supports that argument.
There are no “correct” answers – there are only well written, well argued and well researched papers. Any
paper that has neither a clear thesis nor sufficient research will result in failure on the assignment. It goes
without saying that papers should also be well written, spell checked and carefully proof-read.
ESSAY OUTLINE/PROPOSAL (5%) Due in class, February 17.
Students are required to submit an essay outline sometime prior to February 17. The proposal should
briefly introduce the topic you are going to cover and what you are going to argue (your thesis). This
should take no more than a short paragraph. The outline should include several initial sources for your
bibliography. All students who complete the assignment will receive the full 5%. Late proposals will not
be evaluated.
Russell Alan Williams/POSC 3250/Winter 2010-2011
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MID TERM AND FINAL EXAMS:
Both exams will include a short answer definition section and an essay section. Short answer questions
will focus on key concepts covered in class. Students are expected to have a clear understanding of all key
concepts and terms covered in this material. Essay questions will focus on the issues raised by Class
Discussion Readings provided by the instructor. Students should be sure to complete all of the required
reading.
CLASS DISCUSSION AND PARTICIPATION (10%)
Throughout the semester, weekly “Class Discussion Readings” have been assigned. We will be discussing
these articles in small groups following the weekly lectures. The articles and chapters assigned are more
argumentative and thought-provoking then the review offered by the Cohn textbook chapters. This class
discussion is an important component of the course as both the mid term and final exams will require that
students are familiar with the arguments and major ideas presented in these readings. In order to make
effective use of this time, and to receive a good grade for course participation, students should read the
class discussion readings prior to class and come prepared to analyze that reading.
 Note: In order to be sure of receiving the class discussion readings assigned each week, students’
Memorial email addresses must be working. Please insure this is the case.
STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES:
Students must not engage in academic dishonesty . . .
Cheating includes (but is not limited to) allowing another student to copy from your work, presenting
someone else’s work as your own, consulting electronic devices such as mobile phones or MP3 players
and/or interacting with others while a test is ongoing. Information about procedures and penalties for
academic dishonesty is outlined in the University Calendar and is available from the Department
(http://www.mun.ca/posc/undergraduate/planning/plagarism.php).
Students must have an appropriate classroom demeanor . . .
On occasion less serious students disturb others’ learning during class, by talking at inappropriate times,
using the Internet and/or using cell phones. Students distracted by any such behaviour should bring this to
the attention of the course instructor.
Students must have a functioning Memorial email account . . .
Memorial University’s policy is that students are to use e-mail from an account with the official university
domain name (@mun.ca). This is the sole address to be used for official university e-mail communication.
The policy further states that “failure to appropriately check e-mail will not exempt them from
responsibilities associated with the email correspondence.” This course requires that your MUN email
address is working and that you regularly check your messages. Class readings and advice will be emailed
to you on a regular bases.
In addition, if students wish to contact the instructor via email, they must make it clear who they are and
what course they are referring to. Questions that require “in-depth” lengthy answers may not receive a
quick response. Complex questions about research papers or problems understanding course materials are
usually better addressed in person during office hours.
Students must complete assignments on time . . .
In the event that a class is cancelled on the day of a scheduled exam - the exam will be administered in the
next available class. Students unable to write exams on the days which they are administered may qualify—
through the provision of valid medical documentation (i.e. a doctor’s note) for the day in question—for a
deferred and dissimilar testing opportunity.
There will be no make-up opportunities for Thursday class discussion exercises - students who miss those
assignments will receive a zero for that class unless they provide documentation of a medical issue that
prevented them from participating.
The penalty for late essays is 5% per day. E-mail or other technological problems do not constitute a valid
excuse.
Students who fail to submit their essay proposals by the dues date will receive a zero (in the absence of a
valid medical excuse); late proposals will not be assessed.
STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES:
Persons with Disabilities: The Glenn Roy Blundon Centre (www.mun.ca/blundon) serves students
whose disabilities involve conditions affecting mobility, vision, hearing, learning (disabilities), chronic
illness, or mental health; support is also provided to students with documented temporary illnesses and
injuries.
Use of Recording Devices in Classrooms: Students may not make a visual and/or audio recording,
openly or surreptitiously, of any lecture material delivered in a course without the written permission of
the course instructor.
Writing Centre: The Writing Centre (www.mun.ca/writingcentre) is a free facility for all Memorial
University students who want help with their writing. The Centre provides individualized tutorials to
students from all schools and faculties on a by appointment bases.
Political Science Website: Information about upcoming courses, sample course syllabi, course
instructors, work internships, international exchanges, degree requirements and more is available on the
Political Science website (www.mun.ca/posc/welcome/).
Russell Alan Williams/POSC 3250/Winter 2010-2011
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CLASS SCHEDULE AND READING:

Required Reading will be supplemented in class by lecture materials. Exams will require a good
knowledge of the required reading.

Class Discussion Reading are shorter articles intended for class discussion. These pieces must
be read before each Thursday’s class.

Additional Readings are not required. They are for student reference only and may be of use in
preparing major research papers.
Class Organization and Introduction (January 6)
Unit One: Introduction - the Study of International Political Economy and the Politics of
Economic Integration (January 11 & 13)
Required Reading:

Cohn, Global Political Economy, Chs. 1-2.
Class Discussion Reading:

Michael Kratke and Geoffrey Underhill, “Political Economy: The Revival of an “Interdiscipline’,”
in Stubbs and Underhill, Political Economy and the Changing Global Order, (Oxford 2006), pp.
24-38.

Gerri Gerefi, Ronie Garcia-Johnson and Erika Sasser, “The NGO-Industrial Complex,” Foreign
Policy, 125 (July/August 2001), pp. 56-65.
Additional Reading:
 Thomas J. Biersteker, “Evolving Perspectives in International Political Economy: TwentiethCentury Contexts and Discontinuities," International Political Science Review, 14 (1993), pp. 7-33.
Unit Two: Realist Theory and IPE (January 18 and 20)
Required Reading:

Cohn, Ch. 3.
Class Discussion Reading:

Susan Strange, “The Future of the American Empire,” Journal of International Affairs, Fall 1988,
Vol. 42 Issue 1, pp. 1-17.
Additional Reading:

Robert Cox, “Problems of Power and Knowledge in a Changing World Order,” in Stubbs and
Underhill, Political Economy and the Changing Global Order, (Oxford 2006), pp. 39-50.

Joseph M. Grieco, “Anarchy and the Limits of Cooperation: A Realist Critique of the Newest
Liberal Institutionalism,” International Organization, 42-3 (Summer 1988), pp. 485-507.

Samuel P. Huntington, “The Lonely Superpower,” Foreign Affairs, 78-2 (March/April 1999), pp.
35-49.

John J. Mearsheimer, “The False Promise of International Institutions,” International Security, 193 (Winter 1994/95), pp. 5-49.
Unit Three: Thinking Liberally - Diversity and Hegemony in IPE (January 25 & 27)
Required Reading:

Cohn, Ch. 4.
Class Discussion Reading:

Eric Helleiner, “Economic Liberalism and Its Critics: The Past as Prologue?,” Review of
International Political Economy, 10-4 (November 2003), pp. 685-696.
Additional Reading:

Robert O. Keohane and Lisa L. Martin, “The Promise of Institutionalist Theory,” International
Security, 20-1 (Summer 1995), pp. 39-51.

Robert O. Keohane and Joseph S. Nye, Power and Interdependence, (Scott, Foresman, 2nd ed.,
1989), chapter 1 (pp. 3-22) and chapter 2 (pp. 23-37).

Linda Weiss, “Globalization and National Governance: Antinomy or Interdependence?” Review
of International Studies, Vol. 25, Special Issue (December 1999), pp. 59-60, 67-73.

Anne-Marie Slaughter, “Governing the Global Economy through Government Networks”, in
Michael Byers, ed., The Role of Law in International Politics, (Oxford: Oxford University Press,
2000), pp. 177-205.
Unit Four: Historical Materialism (a.k.a “Marxism”) and IPE (February 1 & 3)
Required Reading:

Cohn, Ch. 5.
Class Discussion Reading:

Shaun Breslin, “Power and production: rethinking China’s global economic role”, Review of
International Studies, Vol. 31, No. 4 (October 2005), pp. 735-53.

Robert W. Cox, “Civil Society at the Turn of the Millennium: Prospects for an Alternative World
Order,” Review of International Studies, 25 (1999), pp. 3-28.
Additional Reading:

Joseph L. Love, "The Origins of Dependency Analysis," Journal of Latin American Studies, 22
(February, 1990), pp. 143-68.

Christopher Chase-Dunn and Peter Grimes, “World-Systems Analysis,” Annual Review of
Sociology, 21 (1995), pp. 387-417.

Michael Dunford, “Globalization and Theories of Regulation,” in Ronen Palan, ed., Global
Political Economy: Contemporary Theories, (London: Routledge, 2000), pp. 143-167.

Robert W. Cox, “Gramsci, Hegemony and International Relations: An Essay in Method,”
Millennium, 12-2 (1983), pp. 162-175.

Andreas Bieler and Adam David Morton, “A Critical Theory Route to Hegemony, World Order
and Historical Change: Neo-Gramscian Perspectives in International Relations,” Capital and
Class, no. 82 (Spring 2004), pp. 85-113.
Unit Five: Contemporary Approaches - Feminism and Constructivism (February 8 & 10)
Required Reading:

Cohn, Ch. 5.
Class Discussion Readings:
Russell Alan Williams/POSC 3250/Winter 2010-2011
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
Penny Griffin, “Refashioning IPE: What and how gender analysis teaches international (global)
political economy,” Review of International Political Economy, Oct2007, Vol. 14 Issue 4, pp.
719-736.

Rawi Abdelal, Mark Blyth, and Craig Parsons, “The Case for a Constructivist International Political
Economy,” in Constructivist Political Economy (Unpublished manuscript:
http://ducis.jhfc.duke.edu/wp-content/uploads/archive/documents/ABP.pdf)
Additional Reading:
Feminism/Gender Theory and IPE:

V. Spike Peterson, “How (the Meaning of) Gender Matters in Political Economy”, New Political
Economy, Vol. 10, No. 4 (December 2005), pp. 499-521.

Sandra Witworth, “Theory and Exclusion: Gender, Masculinity, and International Political
Economy,” in Stubbs and Underhill, pp. 88-102.

Fiona Robinson, “Feminist IR/IPE Theory: Fulfilling Its Radical Potential?,” Review of
International Political Economy, 4-4 (Winter 1997), pp. 773-781.

Georgina Waylen, “Putting Governance into the Gendered Political Economy of Globalization,”
International Feminist Journal of Politics, 6-4 (2004), pp. 557-578.

Georgina Waylen, “IPE, Development and Gender,” Journal of International Relations and
Development, 2-4 (1999), pp. 435-446.

Gita Sen and Caren Grown, Development, Crises, and Alternative Visions: Third World Women’s
Perspectives, Monthly Review Press, 1987.

Jill Steans, “The Private is Global: Feminist Politics and Global Political Economy,” New Political
Economy, 4-1 (1999), pp. 113-28.
IPE and the “Constructivist Challenge”:

Amanda Dickins, “The Evolution of International Political Economy,” International Affairs, Vol
82, Issue 3, (2006), pp. 479-492.

Andreas Bieler and Adam David Morton, “The Deficits of Discourse in IPE: Turning Base Metal
into Gold?” International Studies Quarterly, Volume 52 Issue 1, (2008) pp. 103 - 128.

Leonard Seabrooke, “Everyday Legitimacy and International Financial Orders: The Social Sources
of Imperialism and Hegemony in Global Finance,” New Political Economy, Vol. 12, No. 1,
(March 2007), pp. 1-18.

Mark Blyth, Great Transformations: Economic Ideas and Institutional Change in the Twentieth
Century, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002).
MID TERM EXAM (February 15)
Unit Six: The Global Politics of Money (February 17 & 24)
Essay Proposal due in class, February 17!!!!!!
Required Reading:

Cohn, Ch. 6.
Class Discussion Readings:

Niall Fergusson, “The euro's big chance,” Prospect, May 27, 2004.

Benjamin J Cohen and Paola Subacchi, “A One-and-a-half Currency System,” Journal of
International Affairs, Fall/Winter2008, Vol. 62 Issue 1, pp. 151-163.
Additional Reading:

Eric Helleiner, “Still An Extraordinary Power, But for How Much Longer? The United States in
World Finance,” in Thomas C. Lawton, James N. Rosenau, and Amy C. Verdun, eds., Strange
Power: Shaping the Parameters of International Relations and International Political Economy,
(Ashgate, 2001), pp. 229-247.

Benjamin J. Cohen, “Can the Euro Ever Challenge the Dollar?,” Journal of Common Market
Studies, 41-4 (September 2003), pp. 575-595.
Unit Seven:
Money Problems - The “Debt Crisis” & Financial Crises (March 1 & 3)
Required Reading:

Cohn, Ch. 11.
Class Discussion Readings:

Sohan Sharma and Surinder Kumar, “Debt Relief – Indentured Servitude for the Third World,”
Race & Class, 43-4 (April-June, 2002), pp. 45-56.

Kenneth Rogoff, “The IMF Strikes Back,” Foreign Policy, No. 134, (January/February 2003) pp.
38-46
Additional Reading:

Leslie Elliott Armijo, “The Political Geography of World Financial Reform: Who Wants What and
Why?,” Global Governance, Vol. 7, Issue 4, (2001), pp. 379-396.

Fantu Cheru, “Debt, Adjustment and the Politics of Effective Response to HIV/AIDS in Africa,”
Third World Quarterly, 23-2 (2002), pp. 299-312.

Randall D. Germain, “Reforming the International Financial Architecture: The New Political
Agenda,” in Rorden Wilkinson and Steve Hughes, eds., Global Governance: Critical Perspectives,
Routledge, 2002, pp. 17-35.
Unit Eight: The Global Trade Regime (March 8 & 10)
Required Reading:

Cohn, Ch. 7 & Cohn, Ch. 8 pp 222-239.
Class Discussion Readings:

Michael M. Weinstein and Steve Charnovitz, “The Greening of the WTO,” Foreign Affairs,
Nov/Dec2001, Vol. 80 Issue 6, pp. 147-156.

Lori Wallach and Michelle Sforza, “The WTO’s Environmental Impact,” in Wallach and Woodall
eds., Whose Trade Organization? A Comprehensive Guide To the WTO, 2nd Edition (New Press,
2004).
Additional Reading:

Brian Hocking, “Changing the Terms of Trade Policy Making: From the ‘Club’ to the
‘Multistakeholder’ Model,” World Trade Review, 3-1 (2004), pp. 3-26.

Sumner J. La Croix and Denise Eby Konan, “Intellectual Property Rights in China: The Changing
Political Economy of Chinese-American Interests,” World Economy, 25-6 (June 2002), pp. 759788.
Russell Alan Williams/POSC 3250/Winter 2010-2011
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
Trish Kelly, “The WTO, the Environment and Health and Safety Standards,” World Economy,
27-2 (February 2004), pp. 131-151.

Michael Hart and Bill Dymond, “Special and Differential Treatment and the Doha ‘Development’
Round,” Journal of World Trade, 37-2 (April 2003), pp. 395-415.

Theodore H. Cohn, Governing Global Trade: International Institutions in Conflict and
Convergence, Ashgate, 2002.

Tony Porter, “The North American Free Trade Agreement,” in Stubbs and Underhill, Political
Economy and the Changing Global Order, (Oxford 2006), pp. 317-331.
Unit Nine:
Multinational Corporations and the Global Economy (March 15 & 17)
Required Reading:

Cohn, Ch. 9.
Class Discussion Readings:

Debora Spar and David Yoffie, “Multinational Enterprises and the Prospects for Justice,” Journal
of International Affairs, Vol 52, Issue 2, (Spring 1999), pp. 557-582.

Stephen McBride, “Reconfiguring Sovereignty: NAFTA Chapter 11 Dispute Settlement
Procedures and the Issue of Public-Private Authority,” Canadian Journal of Political Science, Vol.
39(4) (2006), pp. 755-775.
Additional Reading:

Louis W. Pauly and Simon Reich, “National Structures and Multinational Corporate Behavior:
Enduring Differences in the Age of Globalization,” International Organization, 51-1 (Winter
1997), pp. 1-30.

Andrew Walter, “NGOs, Business, and International Investment: The Multilateral Agreement on
Investment, Seattle, and Beyond,” Global Governance, 7-1 (January-March, 2001), pp. 51-73.

Mira Wilkins, “Two Literatures, Two Storylines: Is a General Paradigm of Foreign Portfolio and
Foreign Direct Investment Feasible?,” Transnational Corporations, 8-1 (April 1999), pp. 53-116.

Thomas C. Lawton and Kevin P. Michaels, “The Evolving Global Production Structure:
Implications for International Political Economy,” in Thomas C. Lawton, James N. Rosenau, and
Amy C. Verdun, eds., Strange Power: Shaping the Parameters of International Relations and
International Political Economy, Ashgate, 2001, pp. 57-74.

Mark Herkenrath and Volker Bornschier, “Transnational Corporations in World Development –
Still the Same Harmful Effects in An Increasingly Globalized World Economy?,” Journal of
World-Systems Research, 9-1 (Winter 2003), pp. 105-139.
Unit Ten: Development and Underdevelopment Etc. (March 22 and 24)
Essay due in class, March 22!!!!!!
Required Reading:

Cohn, Ch. 10.
Class Discussion Reading:

David Dollar and Aart Kraay, “Spreading the Wealth,” Foreign Affairs, 91 (January/February
2002), pp. 120-133.

Robert Hunter Wade, “What Strategies are Viable for Developing Countries Today? The World
Trade Organization and the Shrinking of Development Space,” Review of International Political
Economy, 10-4 (November 2003), pp. 621-644.
Additional Reading:

Luiz A. Pereira da Silva, “The International Financial Institutions (IFIs) and the Political Lessons
of the Asian Crises of 1997-1998,” International Social Science Journal, no. 170 (December 2001),
pp. 551-568.

Devesh Kapur, “The Changing Anatomy of Governance of the World Bank,” in Jonathan R.
Pincus and Jeffrey A. Winters, eds., Reinventing the World Bank, Cornell University Press, 2002,
pp. 54-75.

Robert Hunter Wade, “US Hegemony and the World Bank: The Fight over People and Ideas,”
Review of International Political Economy, 9-2 (Summer 2002), pp. 201-229.

Ngaire Woods, “Making the IMF and the World Bank More Accountable,” International Affairs,
77-1 (2001), pp. 83-100.
Unit Eleven: Chaos and Crisis in Global Economic Governance. (March 29 & 31)
Required Reading:

Cohn, Ch. 12.
Class Discussion Reading:

Tony Porter, “The Democratic Deficit in the Institutional Arrangements for Regulating Global
Finance,” Global Governance, Oct-Dec2001, Vol. 7 Issue 4, pp. 427-440.

Robert Wade, “Should We Worry about Income Inequality,” in Held and Kaya eds. Global
Inequality, Patterns and Explanations, (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2007), pp. 104-132.
Essay Return and Final Exam Discussion (April 5)
FINAL EXAM (As scheduled by the Registrar)