Global Political Economy

According to a recent article in The Economist, 2020 marks “the year when everything changed” and a “turning-point” in human history and the global economy. Indeed, the current era of economic globalization, which until recently appeared inevitable to many observers, now faces numerous challenges—including the disruption of supply chains, the closing of borders, and sharp falls in economic output. However, the global economy was already encountering strong headwinds prior to the emergence of COVID-19 due to factors such as ballooning inequality, the climate crisis, rising nationalist and xenophobic sentiment, and increasing support for protectionism and skepticism of both “free trade” and (global) capitalism itself.  

This course centers around analyzing the structure of the contemporary global economy, its political origins and inherently political nature, and how power is exercised therein by actors including states, corporations, and international institutions. As we will highlight throughout the semester, the global economy shapes the lives of people all over the world, including our own. 

Specifically, we will discuss the rise and consolidation of today’s neoliberal global order, its “governance,” and the various forms of backlash against it that are currently proliferating. We will also carefully analyze the role of race, class, and gender in the global economy, as well as the persistence of colonial legacies, and the ongoing relevance of North-South and other inequalities. Additionally, we will discuss how issues such as climate change, U.S.-China relations, and the pandemic itself may shape the future trajectory of the global economy.

To shed light on these and related matters, we will critically engage with the contributions of a diverse array of classic and contemporary thinkers who have sought to theorize the global economy, and the dynamic interplay between politics and economics, in different ways.