Imperialism in Context

2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 52-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claude Serfati
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
International Political Economy ◽  
Marxist Theory ◽  
Past Century ◽  
State Institutions ◽  
New Imperialism ◽  
World Economic ◽  
Corporate Elites ◽  
Relative Decline

This article examines the political economy of French imperialism from a critical Marxist perspective. It demonstrates how France has maintained a major role on the international scene, especially militarily, despite experiencing a relative decline in world economic power since the 1990s. In this regard, three features have marked the French imperial project: (1) the core role of state institutions and corporate elites in making French capitalism, and the protracted closeness of the state-capital nexus; (2) the strength of militarism in economic, political, and social realms; and (3) the consolidation of rentier interests not only in the corporate power bloc, but also at a political level. Over the past century, these three dynamics have underpinned and reinforced a particular project of empire in France – one that bears relevance to current debates on globalisation and the ‘new imperialism’. By examining these issues, this paper seeks to further develop the Marxist theory of international political economy.

Crime: The Illicit Global Political Economy

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
John T. Picarelli
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
International Political Economy ◽  
Criminal Activity ◽  
Potential Effect ◽  
State Institutions ◽  
Sex Slavery ◽  
Criminal Matters ◽  
Fundamental Values

Transnational crimes are crimes that have actual or potential effect across national borders and crimes that are intrastate but offend fundamental values of the international community. The word “transnational” describes crimes that are not only international, but crimes that by their nature involve cross-border transference as an essential part of the criminal activity. Transnational crimes also include crimes that take place in one country, but their consequences significantly affect another country and transit countries may also be involved. Examples of transnational crimes include: human trafficking, people smuggling, smuggling/trafficking of goods, sex slavery, terrorism offences, torture and apartheid. Contemporary transnational crimes take advantage of globalization, trade liberalization and new technologies to perpetrate diverse crimes and to move money, goods, services, and people instantaneously for purposes of perpetrating violence for political ends. While these global costs of criminal activity are huge, the role of this criminal market in the broader international economic system, and its effects on domestic state institutions and economies, has not received widespread attention from an international political economy (IPE) or political science perspective. Given the limits on the exercise of extraterritorial enforcement jurisdiction, states have developed mechanisms to cooperate in transnational criminal matters. The primary mechanisms used in this regard are extradition, lawful removal, and mutual legal assistance.

Comparative Political Economy

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georg Menz
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
International Political Economy ◽  
Adam Smith ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Comparative Political Economy ◽  
Technological Parameters ◽  
Private Debt

This new and comprehensive volume invites the reader on a tour of the exciting subfield of comparative political economy. The book provides an in-depth account of the theoretical debates surrounding different models of capitalism. Tracing the origins of the field back to Adam Smith and the French Physiocrats, the development of the study of models of political-economic governance is laid out and reviewed. Comparative Political Economy (CPE) sets itself apart from International Political Economy (IPE), focusing on domestic economic and political institutions that compose in combination diverse models of political economy. Drawing on evidence from the US, the UK, France, Germany, Sweden, and Japan, the volume affords detailed coverage of the systems of industrial relations, finance, welfare states, and the economic role of the state. There is also a chapter that charts the politics of public and private debt. Much of the focus in CPE has rested on ideas, interests, and institutions, but the subfield ought to take the role of culture more seriously. This book offers suggestions for doing so. It is intended as an introduction to the field for postgraduate students, yet it also offers new insights and fresh inspiration for established scholars. The Varieties of Capitalism approach seems to have reached an impasse, but it could be rejuvenated by exploring the composite elements of different models and what makes them hang together. Rapidly changing technological parameters, new and more recent environmental challenges, demographic change, and immigration will all affect the governance of the various political economy models throughout the OECD. The final section of the book analyses how these impending challenges will reconfigure and threaten to destabilize established national systems of capitalism.

Development Policy

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seung-Uk Huh ◽  
Matthew S. Winters
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Development Policy ◽  
International Political Economy ◽  
Review Literature ◽  
Wealthy Country ◽  
Governmental Organization ◽  
Poor Countries ◽  
Development Policies ◽  
The World

A variety of policies implemented by the wealthy countries of the world can have an impact on economic development in poor countries. We argue that the field of international political economy has underinvested in studying the determinants of non-foreign-aid policies that affect development. We review literature from a set of eight policy areas where there are identifiable development consequences and discuss the findings of the International Political Economy (IPE) literature with regard to policy origins, changes, and consequences. We find a consistent role of non-governmental organization (NGO) pressure on wealthy-country governments in bringing about pro-development policies, although we also identify instances where pro-development policies originate in domestic and strategic interests. Overall, we argue that there is significant space for additional exploration through a development lens of how policies come into being in the wealthy countries of the world.

10. Global Political Economy

2021 ◽  
pp. 223-249
Author(s):  
Stephanie Lawson
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Historical Perspective ◽  
International Political Economy ◽  
Global Politics ◽  
Traditional Role ◽  
Global Political Economy ◽  
The North ◽  
Role Of The State

This chapter offers an overview of the field of Global Political Economy (GPE)—also known as International Political Economy (IPE). It builds on themes introduced in previous chapters, including connections with theories of global politics. These are discussed from a historical perspective to enable a better appreciation of how ideas, practices, and institutions develop and interact over time. These theories arose substantially within a European context, although the extent to which these may be applied uncritically to issues of political economy in all parts of the globe must be questioned. Significant issues for GPE include trade, labour, the interaction of states and markets, the nexus between wealth and power, and the problems of development and underdevelopment in the global economy, taking particular account of the North–South gap. The chapter then discusses the twin phenomena of globalization and regionalization and the way in which these are shaping the global economy and challenging the traditional role of the state. An underlying theme of the chapter is the link between economic and political power.

scholarly journals Paradoxes of Prosperity in China's New Capitalism

2013 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 17-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tobias Ten Brink
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Consumer Demand ◽  
International Political Economy ◽  
Chinese Economy ◽  
The State ◽  
Economic Dynamics ◽  
World Economic ◽  
New Capitalism ◽  
Industry Sectors

This article gives a broad characterization of China's political economy, as well as specific aspects of its socio-economic instabilities. With a focus on China's export-oriented industry sectors, concepts from comparative and international political economy are applied to show how the Chinese economy can be understood as a variegated form of state-permeated capitalism that at the same time is deeply integrated into world economic processes. The article goes on to portray the socio-economic dynamics, as well as the instabilities of China's new capitalism, that are at the root of the state leadership's attempts to turn away from a one-sided model of export and investment-driven growth. Thereby, a number of obstacles are revealed for the “rebalancing” of the economy: a continued dependence on exports, a lack of domestic consumer demand which impedes a significant “social” upgrading, the ongoing low-wage model for which there is no end in sight, the limits of the state's steering capacity and the weaknesses of its fragmented, competition-driven structure.

U.S. Domestic Politics and International Political Economy: An Introduction to the Special Issue

2011 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chloe Thurston ◽  
Kathryn Bowen
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Domestic Politics ◽  
International Political Economy ◽  
The United States ◽  
Executive Branch ◽  
Business Strategies ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Policy Debates ◽  
Critical Issues

The articles in this special issue of Business and Politics weigh in on the domestic political dynamics that continue to shape the international political economy, with a focus on the United States case. In this issue, Richard Carney discusses the role of New Deal–era farmers in shaping modern global financial standards, Daniel Kono analyzes the relationship between social policy and support for freer trade, and Kathleen Rehbein and Douglas Schuler examine the characteristics of business firms that are most likely to gain legislative and executive branch access in the area of trade policy. The two final articles provide insights into critical issues in ongoing policy debates. Irja Vormedal discusses the role of business strategies and “tipping points” in determining the support and failure of federal environmental regulation from 1990 through 2010, while Emily Yixuan Cao, Yong Cao, Rashmi Prasad, and Zhengping Shen argue that domestic politics continues (and will continue) to influence the character of U.S.-China exchange rate negotiations. This introduction to the special issue summarizes the contributions of these five articles and also situates them in relation to other contemporary political science debates.

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