The Politics of International Economic Relations

Course Organization

Time & Location:
Tuesday, 14:15-16:00, U600 (Uni Dufour)

Lecturer:

Dr. Manfred Elsig
Office: Rigot, 18
Office hours: Thursday, 11:00 - 12:00
Email: elsig@hei.unige.ch

Assistants:

Jérôme Bachelard, bachela8@hei.unige.ch, 022 908 59 48
Office Hours: Rigot 35, Tuesday, 09:00 - 09:45, 12:15 - 13:00
Seminars: Groups 1A and 1B

Omar Serrano, serraoa5@hei.unige.ch, 022 908 59 47
Office Hours: Rigot 37, Tuesday, 08:30 - 10:00
Seminars: Groups 2A and 2B

Rachelle Cloutier, cloutie3@hei.unige.ch, 022 908 59 41
Office Hours: Rigot 26, Tuesday, 10:00 - 12:00
Seminars: Groups 3A and 3B

Lucile Eznack, eznack2@hei.unige.ch, 022 908 59 51
Office Hours: Rigot 38, Tuesday, 10:30 - 12:30
Seminars: Groups 4A and 4B

Jonas Hagmann, hagmann9@hei.unige.ch, 022 908 59 47
Office Hours: Rigot 37, Tuesday, 10:00 - 12:00
Seminars: Groups 5A and 5B

Thorsten Wetzling, wetzlin2@hei.unige.ch, 022 908 59 51
Office Hours: Barton B203, Tuesday, 10:00 - 12:00
Seminars: Groups 6A and 6B

Group Repartition and Seminar Calendar:

Find the group repartition for the seminars and the respective seminar calender in the subsequent pdf Files:
- Group Repartition
- Seminar Calendar

Course Description

The first semester of this course provides an introduction to the political analysis of international economic relations. Topics covered include a historical overview of the evolution and the management of trade and monetary integration with emphasis on GATT/WTO and IMF. The course will further address developments at the regional level, the impact of economic globalization on the State, the role of private actors and the impact of increased processes of legalization in economic relations.

Seminars

The Teaching-Assistants will organize, over the course of the semester, a number of sessions to review some of the material discussed in class and provide guidance in terms of the application of theories, the development of analytical skills and essay writing.

Each student will be assigned to a specific seminar group with one of the 6 assistants. Attendance to the seminars is compulsory. The specific dates and times of seminars will be communicated by the assistants in a separate document.

Conditions

Le contenu de cette première partie (cours et lectures obligatoires) de la conférence est matière obligatoire pour l’examen de science politique de troisième année. Pour ceux et celles qui désirent obtenir la note de la conférence, le test aura lieu le 30 janvier 2007, de 14h15 à 16h00 en salle U600 (Uni Dufour).

Plagiarism: All papers submitted during the semester are to be individually researched and written. In case of plagiarism committed by a student or a group of students, the respective paper(s) will be marked "0".

For your information, plagiarism is defined by the IUHEI as follows: « Le plagiat consiste à s'approprier le travail créatif d'autrui en le présentant comme son propre travail; à reproduire des extraits de texte, des données, des chiffres, des images etc., tirés de sources externes en omettant d'en mentionner la provenance; à utiliser les pensées originales d'autres auteurs, même quand elles sont exprimées dans ses propres mots, sans en indiquer la source. »

Requirements

Students are expected to write one short essay (take home exam) before the Christmas break and to take a two-hour exam at the end of the semester. The essay will count for 40% and the final exam for 60% of the overall grade.

Length and format of the essay: Each essay must not exceed 6 pages in length. They must be written in TIMES NEW ROMAN, font size 12; double lined spacing and standard margins. Essays not respecting these criteria will be penalized.

Deadline: The essays must be handed in to your respective teaching assistant at the beginning of the class on December 5, 2006, i.e. before Dr. Elsig starts the lecture.

Download the Assignment:
International-Economic-Relations-Assignment1.pdf

Lectures

Students are expected to prepare for the lectures. A reader will be available for the mandatory texts. Further information on where to purchase it will be provided by the assistants. In addition, the following books provide a good overview:

• Ravenhill John (ed.) 2005. Global Political Economy. Oxford: Oxford University Press (“Ravenhill”)
• Gilpin Robert 2001. Global Political Economy. Princeton: Princeton University Press. (“Gilpin”)
• Frieden Jeff and David Lake (eds.) 2000. International Political Economy. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s. (“Frieden and Lake”)

A number of copies will be on reserve at the library for consultation.

Course Overview

I: APPROACHES AND CONCEPTS IN GLOBAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY

24 October 2006,
Introduction: What is IPE?

31 October 2006,
Different perspectives to study IPE

• Gilpin, chapter 1
• Katzenstein Peter, Keohane Robert and Krasner Stephen 1998. “International Organization and the Study of Politics,” International Organization 52(4):645-85.

Further reading:

• Frieden/Lake, introduction
• Ravenhill, chapter 1
• Milner Helen 1998. “Rationalizing Politics: The Emerging Synthesis of International, American and Comparative Politics,” International Organization 52(4):759-86.

7 November 2006,
On Hegemons and the development of regimes

• Krasner Stephen 2000 “State Power and the Structure of International Trade” in Frieden/Lake, pp. 19-36.
• Hasenclever, A., P. Mayer and V. Rittberger 1996, “Interests, Power Knowledge: the Study of International Regimes,” Mershon International Studies Review 40:2, 177-228

Further reading:

• Eichengreen Barry 2000. “Hegemonic Stability Theories of the International Monetary System,” (Frieden/Lake, chapter 14)
• Keohane Robert 1984. After Hegemony. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
• Lake David 1993. “Leadership, Hegemony and the International Economy – Naked Emperor or Tattered Monarch with Potential?,” International Studies Quarterly 37(4):459-89.
• Lake David 2006. “American Hegemony and the Future of East-West Relations,” International Studies Perspectives 7:23-30.
• Ruggie John 1982. “International Regimes, Transactions and Change: Embedded Liberalism in the Postwar Economic Order,” International Organization 36(2): 379-415.
• Snidal Duncan 1985. “The Limits of Hegemony Stability Theory,” International Organization 39(4):579-614.
• Strange Susan 1987. “The Persistent Myth of Lost Hegemony,” International Organization 41(4):551-74.

14 November 2006,
Cooperation and International Institutions

• Simmons Beth and Lisa Martin 2001. “International Organizations and Institutions,” in Carlsnaes Walter et al. (eds.), Handbook of International Relations, Sage.
• Koromenos Barbara, Lipson Charles and Snidal Duncan 2001. “The Rational Design of International Institutions,” International Organization 55(4):761-99.

Further reading:

• Aggarwal Vinod and Cédric Dupont 2005. “Collaboration and Coordination in the Global Political Economy”, Ravenhill chapter 2
• Haas Peter M. 1992. “Introduction: Epistemic Communities and International Policy Coordination,” International Organization 46:1-35.
• Keohane Robert. “International Institutions: Two Approaches,” International Studies Quarterly 32(4):379-96.
• Milner Helen 1992. “International Theories of Cooperation Among Nations: Strengths and Weaknesses,” World Politics 44(3):466-96.
• Sandler Todd 1992. Collective Action: Theory and Applications. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
• Stein Arthur 1990. Why Nations Cooperate. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.

21 November 2006,
Domestic sources of foreign economic policies

• Hiscox Michael 2005. “The Domestic Sources of Foreign Economic Policies”, Ravenhill chapter 3

Further reading:

• Garrett Geoffrey 1998. Partisan Politics in the Global Economy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Goldstein Judith and Robert Keohane 1993. Ideas and Foreign Policy: Beliefs, Institutions and Political Change. Ithaca NY: Cornell University Press.
• Milner Helen 1997. Interests, Institutions, and Information. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
• North Douglass 1990. Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Putnam Robert 1988. “Diplomacy and Domestic Politics: the Logic of Two-Level Games,” International Organization 42(3).
• Rogowski Ronald 1989. “Commerce and Coalitions: How Trade Affects Domestic Political Alignments,” in Frieden/Lake (chapter 20)
• Simmons Beth 2000. “Money and the Law: Why Comply with the Public International Law of Money?,” The Yale Journal of International Law 25:323-69.

II: THE EVOLUTION OF THE INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY

28 November 2006,
The Post-1945 International Economic Order

Paper: Questions

• Winham Gilbert 2005. “The Evolution of the Global Trading Regime,” Ravenhill, chapter 4
• Ikenberry John 1992. “A World Economy Restored: Expert Consensus and the Anglo-American Postwar Settlement,” International Organization 46(1):289-321.

5 December 2006,
Evolution of Monetary and Trade Regimes

Paper due

• Helleiner Eric 2005. “The Evolution of the International Monetary and Financial System,” Ravenhill chapter 6

Further reading:

• Bhagwati Jagdish 1988. Protectionism. MIT Press.
• Eichengreen Barry 1998. Globalizing Capital. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
• Elsig Manfred 2007. “The World Trade Organization’s Legitimacy Crisis: What does the Beast Look Like?,” Journal of World Trade 41
• Gowa Joanna 1983. Closing the Gold Window: Domestic Politics and the End of Bretton Woods. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
• Hoekman Bernard and Michel Kostecki 2001. The Political Economy of the World Trading System. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Krugman Paul 1987. “Is Free Trade Passé,” Economic Perspectives 1(2):131-44.
• Odell John 2001. Negotiating the World Economy. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
• Pauly Louis 2005. “The Political Economy of International Financial Crises,” Ravenhill chapter 7.
• Strange Susan 1998. Mad Money. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

III: GLOBALIZATION AND CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN THE INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY

12 December 2006,
Globalization and the State

• Geoffrey Garrett 1998. “Global Markets and National Politics: Collision Course or Virtuous Circle?” International Organization 52(4):787-824.
• Hay Colin 2005. “Globalization’s Impact on States,” Ravenhill chapter 9

Further reading:

• Bordo Michael, Barry Eichengreen and Douglas Irwin 1999. “Is Globalisation Today Really Different than Globalisation a Hundred Years Ago?” National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper 7195.
• Dauvergne Peter 2005. “Globalization and the Environment,” Ravenhill chapter 14.
• Evans Peter 1997. “The Eclipse of the State? Reflections on Stateness in an Era of Globalization,” World Politics 50(1):62-87.
• Keohane Robert and Nye Joseph 2001 (3rd edition). Power and Interdependence. Addison-Wesley.
• Rodrik Dani 1997. Has Globalisation Gone too Far? Washington DC: Institute for International Economics.
• Susan Strange 1996. The Retreat of the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Rudra, Nita 2002. “Globalization and the Decline of the Welfare State in Less-Developed Countries,” International Organization 56(2):411-45.
• Wolfe Martin 2004. Why Globalization Works. Yale: Yale University Press.

19 December 2006,
MNCs and non-state actors (private actors)

• Strange Susan 1992. “States, Firms and Diplomacy,” International Affairs 68(1):1-15 (also in Frieden/Lake)
• Williams Marc 2005. “Globalization and Civil Society,” Ravenhill chapter 13

Further reading:

• Haufler Virgina 2003. “Globalization and Industry Self-Regulation,” in Miles Kahler and David Lake (eds.) Governance in a Global Economy. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
• Henderson David 1999. The MAI Affair: A Story and Its Lessons. Royal Institute of International Affairs.
• Higgott Richard, Geoffrey Underhill and Andreas Bieler (eds.) 2000. Non-State Actors and Authority in the Global System. London: Routledge.
• Pauly Louis and Simon Reich 1997. “National Structures and Multinational Corporate Behaviour: Enduring Differences in the Age of Globalization,” International Organization 51(1):1-30.
• Raustiala Kal 1997. “States, NGOs and International Environmental Institutions,” International Studies Quarterly 41:719-40.
• Wapner Paul 1995 “Politics Beyond the State: Environmental Activism and World Civic Politics,” World Politics 47(3):311-40.

HOLIDAY BREAK

9 January 2007,
Regionalism

• Ravenhill John 2005. “Regionalism”, Ravenhill chapter 5

Further reading:

• Frankel Jeff 1997. Regional Trading Blocs in the World Economic System: Washington DC: Institute for International Economics.
• Mansfield Edward and Milner Helen (eds.) 1997. The Political Economy of Regionalism. New York: Columbia University Press.
• Moravcsik Andrew 1998. The Choice for Europe: Social Purpose and State Power from Messina to Maastricht. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
• Verdun Amy 2003. “An American/European divide in European Integration Studies: Bridging the Gap with IPE,” Journal of European Public Policy 10(1):84-101.
• Wallace Helen 2000. “Europeanization and Globalization: Complementary or Contradictory Trends?” New Political Economy 5(3):369-82.

16 January 2007,
Developing countries and IPE

• Thomas Carolyn 2005 “Globalization and Development in the South”, Ravenhill chapter 12
• Naím Moses 1999. “Washington Consensus or Washington Confusion?” Foreign Policy 118:86-103. http://www.imf.org/ external/pubs/ft/seminar/1999/reforms/Naim.htm

Further reading:

• Easterly William. 2001. The Elusive Quest for Growth. Cambridge MA: MIT Press.
• Hunter Wade Robert 2005. “Globalization, Poverty, and Inequality”, Ravenhill chapter 11
• Lake David 1987. “Review Essay: Power and the Third World: Toward a Realist Political Economy of North-South Relations,” International Studies Quarterly 31(2):217-234.
• Landes David 1990. “Why are We So Rich and They So Poor?” American Economic Review 80(2):1-13.
• Odell John (ed.) 2006. Negotiating Trade: Developing Countries in the WTO and NAFTA. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Rodrik Dani 2006. “Goodbye Washington Consensus, Hello Washington Confusion?”, http://ksghome.harvard.edu/ ~drodrik/Lessons%20of%20the%201990s%20review %20_JEL_.pdf

23 January 2007,
Global Economic Institutions and Law

• Goldstein Judith and Lisa Martin 2001. “Legalization, Trade Liberalization, and Domestic Politics: A Cautionary Note,” International Organization 54(3):603-32.

Further reading:

• Jackson John 1998. “Global Economics and International Economic Law,” Journal of International Economic Law 1(1):1-24.
• Howse Robert and Nicolaidis Kalypso 2001. “Legitimacy and Global Governance: Why Constitutionalizing the WTO is a Step too Far,” in R. Porter, P. Sauve, A. Subramanian and A. Zampetti (eds.) Equity, Efficiency and Legitimacy: The Multilateral System at the Millennium, Washington DC: Brookings.
• Slaughter Anne-Marie Burley 1993. “International Law and IR Theory: A Dual Agenda,” American Journal of International Law 87 (April):205-39.
• Special Edition on “Legalization and World Politics,” International Organization 54(3) (Summer 2000).

30 January 2007,
Exam