What are the sources of economic growth and stability in the world economy? How do major states shape the organization of trade and financial flows, and what are the implications for smaller powers? What lessons can be drawn from historical crises and breakdowns in international economic order? Faced with the challenges of the climate crisis and increasing political backlash, will states be able to maintain a world economy characterized by relatively free trade, convertible currencies, and unfettered capital movements?
International political economy is a field of study whose central aim is to understand the reciprocal relationships between political interests and power on the one hand, and world market structures and economic dynamics on the other. This course will use theory and history to investigate how the dual logics of state and market operate and how their interactions have shaped the world economy past and present.