Global Political Economy And The Modern State System

In Global Political Economy and the Modern State System Tobias ten Brink contributes to an understanding of the modern state system, its conflicts, and its transformation. In contrast to the political attractiveness of optimistic theoretical approaches to globalisation, this book demonstrates how an analytical approach rooted in Global Political Economy (GPE) helps to explain both the tendencies towards integration and towards rivalry in international relations. By way of a historical reconstruction of different ‘world order’ phases in the twentieth century, ten Brink analyses multiple, phase-specific variations of socioeconomic and geopolitical conflicts that are significant for the modern capitalist world system. Revised edition of Geopolitik. Geschichte und Gegenwart kapitalistischer Staatenkonkurrenz, Verlag Westfälisches Dampfboot, Münster, 2008.

This book is the eagerly awaited successor to Robert Gilpin's 1987 The Political Economy of International Relations, the classic statement of the field of international political economy that continues to command the attention of students, researchers, and policymakers. The world economy and political system have changed dramatically since the 1987 book was published. The end of the Cold War has unleashed new economic and political forces, and new regionalisms have emerged. Computing power is increasingly an impetus to the world economy, and technological developments have changed and are changing almost every aspect of contemporary economic affairs. Gilpin's Global Political Economy considers each of these developments. Reflecting a lifetime of scholarship, it offers a masterful survey of the approaches that have been used to understand international economic relations and the problems faced in the new economy. Gilpin focuses on the powerful economic, political, and technological forces that have transformed the world. He gives particular attention to economic globalization, its real and alleged implications for economic affairs, and the degree to which its nature, extent, and significance have been exaggerated and misunderstood. Moreover, he demonstrates that national policies and domestic economies remain the most critical determinants of economic affairs. The book also stresses the importance of economic regionalism, multinational corporations, and financial upheavals. Gilpin integrates economic and political analysis in his discussion of "global political economy." He employs the conventional theory of international trade, insights from the theory of industrial organization, and endogenous growth theory. In addition, ideas from political science, history, and other disciplines are employed to enrich understanding of the new international economic order. This wide-ranging book is destined to become a landmark in the field.

The Evolution of Modern States, first published in 2010, is a significant contribution to the literatures on political economy, globalization, historical institutionalism, and social science methodology. The book begins with a simple question: why do rich capitalist democracies respond so differently to the common pressures they face in the early twenty-first century? Drawing on insights from evolutionary theory, Sven Steinmo challenges the common equilibrium view of politics and economics and argues that modern political economies are best understood as complex adaptive systems. The book examines the political, social, and economic history of three different nations - Sweden, Japan, and the United States - and explains how and why these countries have evolved along such different trajectories over the past century. Bringing together social and economic history, institutionalism, and evolutionary theory, Steinmo thus provides a comprehensive explanation for differing responses to globalization as well as a new way of analyzing institutional and social change.

Ideally suited to upper-undergraduate and graduate students, Analyzing the Global Political Economy critically assesses the convergence between IPE, comparative political economy, and economics. Andrew Walter and Gautam Sen show that a careful engagement with economics is essential for understanding both contemporary IPE and for analyzing the global political economy. The authors also argue that the deployment of more advanced economic theories should not detract from the continuing importance for IPE of key concepts from political science and international relations. IPE students with little or no background in economics will therefore find this book useful, and economics students interested in political economy will be alerted to the comparative strengths of political science and other social science disciplines. A concise look at the foundations of analysis in the political economy of global trade, money, finance, and investment Suitable for upper-undergraduate and graduate students with some or no economic background Techniques and findings from a range of academic disciplines, including international relations, political science, economics, sociology, and history Further reading and useful weblinks including a range of relevant data sources, listed in each chapter

Compelling and accessible, this Very Short Introduction challenges the perception of borders as passive lines on a map, revealing them instead to be integral forces in the economic, social, political, and environmental processes that shape our lives. Highlighting the historical development and continued relevance of borders, Alexander Diener and Joshua Hagen offer a powerful counterpoint to the idea of an imminent borderless world, underscoring the impact borders have on a range of issues, such as economic development, inter- and intra-state conflict, global terrorism, migration, nationalism, international law, environmental sustainability, and natural resource management. Diener and Hagen demonstrate how and why borders have been, are currently, and will undoubtedly remain hot topics across the social sciences and in the global headlines for years to come. This compact volume will appeal to a broad, interdisciplinary audience of scholars and students, including geographers, political scientists, anthropologists, sociologists, historians, international relations and law experts, as well as lay readers interested in understanding current events.

Drawing together leading scholars, the book provides a revealing new map of the US political economy in cross-national perspective.

Sobel (Washington U. in St Louis) combines international politics and international political economy in his textbook. He emphasizes explanatory frameworks for social behavior that are based on the rational choice approach to political economy. After presenting the building blocks of this approach, he presents chapters on the structure of the international system; power and hierarchy; economic liberalism and market exchange in the global arena; political markets and exchange; the history of globalization over the past 100 years; political and economic market failure and social traps; the dilemma of collective goods, solutions, and hegemonic stability; interest groups and international economic foundations of political cleavage; and the impact of institutional structures. Annotation :2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com).

This innovative new text is derived from a highly successful Open University course of the same title. It takes as a dominant theme the contested issue of ‘globalization’ (the apparent intensification of global patterns of inter-dependence) and its implications for the autonomy of the modern nation-state. Following a conceptual introduction, which critically examines the theoretical debates framing the study of world politics, the work is structured around four key processes of globalization which the authors identify as being the central determinants of contemporary global politics. These key processes are: the global impact of great power relations; the globalizing tendencies of technological innovation; the existence of a global economy; and the globalizing force of modernity. Reflecting this structure the text is organized into four discrete sections. Each section explores, both theoretically and empirically, one of the four processes of globalization. Throughout, particular attention is paid both to a critical evaluation of these globalizing processes as well as to their consequences for the sovereignty and autonomy of the modern nation-state. Moreover, the authors combine a lucid treatment of theoretical debates with topical case-study material to produce a text which is extremely accessible to undergraduate students studying international relations and politics and to those readers with little prior knowledge of world affairs.

The new edition of this well-established and highly regarded textbook continues to provide the clearest and most comprehensive introduction to the modern state. It examines the state from its historical origins at the birth of modernity to its current jeopardized position in the globalized politics of the 21st Century. The book has been entirely revised and updated throughout, including substantial new material on the financial crisis and the environment. Subjects covered include: • The evolution of the state system • Placing the state in modernity • States and societies • State and economy • States and citizens • States and the international order • States of the twenty-first century This book is essential reading for all those studying the state, international relations and comparative politics.