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THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES IN INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY

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THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES IN IPE

Introduction
The field of IPE highlights four dominant theories that provide political-economists a rich understanding on
how entities behave and interact with each other. The theories stem from competing historical perspectives
that are used to clarify not only political objectives of state relations found today, but also their economic
development objectives within the global political economy. This paper will discuss the theories of Realism,
Liberalism, and the Critical Perspectives of Structural Marxism and Feminism, all acting as pillars to
modern ideologies. The discussion will include their separate contributing perspectives to the contemporary
global political economy, provided with examples for deeper understanding.

The Realist Perspective

Realism is a body of thoughts that reveals power as a central focus in state-to-state interaction and
behaviour. Realists have perceptions of distrust in natural behaviours of global states, as they follow
individualistic interests that impede other states for their own advantage. This creates conflictual
environments between states in search for maximized power through competing interests (Ravenhill, 2017).
With this conflict, realists claim an anarchic political system where states, as independent ‘rational-making’
entities, holds power as legitimate actors (Ravenhill, 2017). States control all national economic interests,
and may combat foreign interests and dependency thereof. Realism requires strong ‘nationalized’ states
(autonomous, amass resources: military and diplomacy capacities, and stable markets) in order to control,
protect and preserve their economic interests (O'Brien & Williams, 2013). This control is significant as it
provides security over national markets that are ‘flooded’ by foreign goods and services from the emerging
free trade regime in global markets (Ravenhill, 2017). However, states following more nationalistic interests
have found a partial way out. States may impose formalized protective tactics (restrictions) to discourage
foreign- external integration of goods and services. This helps develop their national- ‘internal’ sensitive
products, producers and market sectors simultaneously away from foreign exposure.

The recent signing of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between RSA and EU demonstrates this
protective tactic utilized within trade agreements. Although the EPA is a preferential free trade deal, RSA
successfully negotiated an asymmetrical clause to apply protectionist values to safeguard domestic
agricultural products (Department of Trade and Industry; Agbiz, 2016). This permitted RSA the power to
enforce high export tariffs on products exceeding the quota-free margins, discouraging EU interests, but
encouraging development over RSA’s domestic agricultural producers by bolstering their productions. This
compensates for the development factor that RSA has undertaken in modes of control through an economic
nationalist clause in the EPA.
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The Liberalist Perspective
Liberalism is a diverse body of thoughts, overlooking the anarchic realist approach of states as the sole
actors in the global economy (Smith, El-Anis, & Farrands, 2014). Instead, liberalists focus on the behaviour
of individuals (entities of corporations and interest groups) as contributing actors toward the interests of
states (Ravenhill, 2017). Liberals trust that individuals have the natural ability to avoid conflict of interests
through cooperation and interdependence (Smith, El-Anis, & Farrands, 2014). This is supplemented with the
use of democratic rights to pursue free, rational decisions that maximizes economic interests with the
absence of state control. Cooperation thus offers liberals free movement and activity in the economy
(production and consumption), as the capitalist system is based on equality. This is significant to economic
liberals and economic interests showing support for equal, free trade under supply and demand chains, open
markets, and movements of profit and labour for economic prosperity. This further promotes globalization
and market integration on an international and domestic level.

The EU is a strong supporting entity of economic liberalism. They provide favourable trade agreements (like
the EPA) to other states with mutual interests for development (von Ahn & Willman, 2015). EPA’s aim to
fuel free, unrestricted trade activity through competing open markets between entities to advance export
activity for capital, and thereby growth (von Ahn & Willman, 2015). Other examples include the World
Trade Organization as the parent institute for (global) liberalized trade policies.

The Critical Perspective

These theories are critical because they investigate the systemic nature of the world found today.

Structural Marxism
The theory propounds on Marxism and Economic Structuralism. They are understood to be synonymous in
ideology and reactions to the liberal capitalist system.

Marxism views the economic society to be divided into two respective classes (D'Anieri, 2014). It does this
by utilizing a ‘surplus-value extraction’ tactic (D'Anieri, 2014). The rich (aristocrats) becomes richer by
exploiting the poor through modes of production for maximized capital (Ravenhill, 2017). In order to
maximize capital, aristocrats concentrate on growing labour forces and lowering wages which raises ethical
concerns to labour treatment, given the ‘input-to-wage’ (capital) imbalances. Nonetheless, this provide
aristocrats advantage of high-profit margins with low-costs in production. Marxism therefore sees the
capitalist system and aristocrat’s dependent on the labour force to obtain their lucrative interests and growth.

Economic Structuralism links the global organisation of states to Marxism (Viotti & Kauppi, 2010). States
are seen unevenly dependent upon each other and are divided by class (Viotti & Kauppi, 2010). This
division emerges between the ‘centre’ richer states and the ‘periphery’ poorer states, where the latter is
exploited and prone to limited capital from the former (Ravenhill, 2017). The ‘periphery’ will trade a variety
of commodities for low-capital, which the ‘centre’ will buy for the manufacturing of goods using labour for
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further trading. Manufactured goods are traded for a higher capital than what the commodities were bought
for, solely enriching centre states, similarly to the aristocrats.

RSA as a trade ‘centre’ have agreements with neighbouring ‘peripherals’ countries (Southern African
Customs Union , 2017). These agreements serve assistance to ‘peripherals’ with open access into RSA
markets for integration. Similarly, RSA also gains, but more. It has access to diverse commodities that
‘peripherals’ offer at duty free, cost-effective prices. In-turn, RSA buys this commodity to produce high-
quality products that is sold back to peripherals, or to more profitable elite centre states like the UK in a
possible post-Brexit.

Feminism
Feminism focuses on the social construct that divides gender roles of male and female (Ravenhill, 2017). It
views the former to be an asymmetrically dominant construct to the latter, creating a struggle for gender
power. Feminists oppose this domination as it impedes their democratic rights to equal and fair treatment
(Ravenhill, 2017). This often leads to conflictual environments and fragmented societies where women
receive the ‘bitter-end’, and thereby retaliate with oppressive socio-political ambitions for equality. Further,
Marxist Feminism emphasizes a dual construct (D'Anieri, 2014). It aims to integrate the division of
economic-class and labour constructs, particularly accounting for the differing class experiences of women
as labourers in the capitalist system. This was not effective. Feminists thus diverted emphasis towards the
‘elite-women’ class as they lack this differentiation factor, where elites are bound by similar experiences
(Ravenhill, 2017). This entitles them to achieve similar interests and acquire gender power that is equivalent
to the masculine.

An example may refer back to 2010 in the UK, where the government introduced an austerity programme to
counteract its economic decline (O'Brien & Williams, 2013). The programme salvaged the economy by
cutting into governmental expenditure of society. The working women were amongst first to be exploited,
having experienced encroachment in wages, service benefits and employment availability (O'Brien &
Williams, 2013). Currently, UK feminist are in pole position in the struggle, aiming to abolish the
demoralizing constructs through equality and to therefore deconstruct traditional perceptions of women in
the modern world.

Conclusion
This paper provides a concise account of four core competing theoretical perspectives that have developed
over the past centuries. The perspectives are significant because of their rise within the contemporary global
political economy. The paper therefore allows political-economists to broaden their knowledge of
contemporary applications and functionalities in the field, given the examples provided.
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References
D'Anieri, P. (2014). International Politics: Power and Purpose in Global Affairs International 3rd Edition. Florida, USA:
Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Department of Trade and Industry; Agbiz. (2016, November 04). South Africa’s transition from TDCA to EPA:
Agricultural market access. Retrieved Febuary 23, 2017, from Tradlac: file:///C:/Users/User/Desktop/SA-
EU%20TRADE/South%20Africa%E2%80%99s%20transition%20from%20TDCA%20to%20EPA_%20Agricultural
%20market%20access%20-%20tralac%20trade%20law%20centre.html

O'Brien, R., & Williams, M. (2013). Global Political Economy Fourth Edition. Hampshire: PALGRAVE MACMILLAN.

Ravenhill, J. (2017). Global Political Economy 5th Edition. University of Waterloo, Canada.: Oxford University Press.

Smith, R., El-Anis, I., & Farrands, C. (2014). International Political Economy in the 21st Century: Contemporary Issues
and Analyses. Kentucky, USA: Routledge Publication.

Southern African Customs Union . (2017, March 08). SACU AGREEMENTS. Retrieved March 15, 2017, from Southern
African Customs Union Official Website:
http://www.sacu.int/docs/agreements/2017/SACU%20Status%20Register%20March%202017.pdf

Viotti, P., & Kauppi, M. (2010, October 13). International Relations Theory. In Economic Structuralism: Global
Capitalism and Postcolonialism. New York, USA: Longman Publications. Retrieved March 13, 2017, from
http://www.waynemclean.com/docs/notes/Viotti%20and%20Kauppi%20-
%20Economic%20Structuralism.pdf

von Ahn, P., & Willman, L. (2015). The EU-SAD Economic Partnership Agreement. UMEA UNIVERSITET. Retrieved
Febuary 21, 2017, from http://www.diva-portal.se/smash/get/diva2:902928/FULLTEXT01.pdf