DOKUZ EYLÜL UNIVERSITY

DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

IRE 4106
Globalization and International Relations

Spring 2022-2023
Lecture hour: Wednesdays 13.00
Instructor: Associate Prof. Elif Uzgören (Room 232B, elif.uzgoren@deu.edu.tr)
Research Assistant: Dr. Fulya Akgül Durakçay

Course description:
This course aims to study globalization through examining its institutions, actors and its impact
on transforming international system, relations of production, finance and nation-state. The
lecture starts with understanding competing definitions of globalization and competing ideas
and camps among scholars. It then proceeds with historicizing globalization and studying how
globalization has transformed trade, finance, development question of developing countries,
position of labour in global economy. The course ends with casting some light on the current
debates around crisis of globalization and/or retreat from globalization.

Course Requirements:

1) Students shall read assigned materials before the date indicated in the syllabus and
actively participate in class discussions.

2) Students shall write two reflection papers. Students will choose assignment topics from
the reading list and prepare a summary of the reading of the particular week with an
emphasis on research questions, methodology and argument of the authors.
Assignments should not exceed two page (750 words). Hand-written assignments
will not be accepted.

3) Students will record a video on a topic related to sustainable world and its relation to
globalization.

4) There will be a term project, a poster presentation.

Grading:
Assignment 60 % [50% writing 2 reflection papers + 50% video recording]
Term Project 40 % Poster presentation
 Guideline for the essays and evaluation criteria

The major aim of the exercise of writing essays is to develop your skills to summarize main
arguments surrounding a debate and reflecting on these arguments while developing your
critical thinking skills. For the essays, you are expected to consider what you have learned in
the class and you summarize main arguments and then express your own thoughts, ideas, and
insights. In this process, you can either agree or disagree a particular argument and/or
position. The most important point is to be able to substantiate your position related to the
debate.

You have to cite the related books from the syllabus.

Please present the issues/arguments in your essay in a planned manner. In each essay, there
should be an introduction, main body and conclusion as well as bibliography. In
introduction, at the beginning of your paper, please re-state research question and your
argument/position as well as the plan of your essay. Then, please elaborate briefly on the
content and coverage of the article. Please do not forget to relate issues to the
discussions/issues we discuss in the classroom. In conclusion, explore more your opinion and
concentrate on your insights. Please do not forget to repeat the research question and
argument.

1st and 2nd assignments

Introduction - 10 points
Main text - 10 points
Conclusion – 15 points
Own ideas – 15 points

Assignments should:
- Summarize main arguments of the articles
- Clearly state research question and argument of the articles
- Link issues/arguments with class discussions
- Present personal insights and reflections of the student
- Follow academic writing rules
- Cite literature
- Show an effort for analytical and critical thinking

Essays should not exceed a maximum of TWO pages.

ATTENTION!!! Papers with plagiarism of any form will be graded with 1 point over 50.
Please do not copy and paste in anyway in your essay. You have to cite everything (each
sentence) if it is not your own idea. If you have no knowledge about plagiarism, it is your duty
and responsibility to familiarize yourself with paraphrasing as well as plagiarism. Please
search how to cite, how to give academic reference and/or how to paraphrase. Thank you.
 Guideline for video recording

Each student will work alone to record a video which cannot be longer than 2-3 minutes in
duration, explaining the central propositions related to a key concept, a debate or a theme
related to the topics covered within the context of the course. Students shall either observe a
social phenomenon from daily life related to globalization or interview people through
structured questions. If students prefer to conduct an interview, they shall contact with the
instructor and be informed about possible ethical issues that may arise during the interview.

This assignment aims to develop students’ skills to communicate clear information in an

engaging manner for an audience of their peers through a clear time management.

The project will be graded on the basis of its academic rigor, clarity, and ability to engage the
viewers. The video is not assessed on the basis of its technical merits (i.e., you will not get
extra points because the final product is visually impressive).

Length. Your video must be 2–3 minutes in length

Style. There are no restrictions on the style of the video.

Title slide. Your video should begin with a descriptive title, your name(s), the name of the
school, and the year in which it was created.

Interview. If you choose to conduct and include an interview, please identify a suitable person,
contact them ahead of time to politely request an interview. Inform them that it will be
recorded and request their permission to do so (it’s the law!). The list of proposed interviewees
and the three interview questions must be approved by the instructor when you submit your
script and storyboard before you conduct the interview.

Video release forms. Anyone who is featured and identifiable in your video (interviewee, man
on the street, actor, narrator, etc.) must sign a Video Release Form, which you can obtain
from your instructor.

SUBMISSION: You have to submit the assignment in written form as one-page document in
which you explain your purpose, your argument and your method to convey your message in
the video. You do not have to submit a CD.

ATTENTION: These videos can only be shown in the class with the instructor and other
classmates. They shall not be broadcasted in Youtube or any other channel. If you are planning
to use the video afterwards or to post the video online, then you need to sign a video/short
movie release form with the participants in the video.

By law, you cannot record a person without taking his/her consent. If you are going to
interview people, please take his/her consent in advance. You have to start the interview with
the person saying that s/he gives his/her consent in the beginning of the interview.
Class Schedule & Topics

Week 1: Introduction
1 March

Week 2: Competing Definitions of Globalization

8 March Hirst, P. and Thompson, G. (1996), Globalization in Question, The
International Economy and the Possibilities of Governance, Cambridge:
Polity, p. 1-17 and 195-205.

Friedman, T. L. (2005), The World is Flat, A Brief History of the Twenty-

First Century, New York: Picador.

Week 3: Competing Definitions of Globalization

15 March Held, D. and McGrew, A. (2000), ‘The Great Globalization Debate: An
Introduction’, in Held, D. and McGrew, A., The Global Transformations
Reader, An Introduction to the Globalization Debate, (Cambridge: Polity),
pp. 1-50. (Article to be reviewed)

1st assignment: Reflection paper due date: 15 March

Week 4: Historical Antecedents: International Political Economy in the 19 th

(Make-up Course) Century and British Hegemony
16 March
Polanyi, K. (1944), The Great Transformation The Political and Economic
Origins of Our Time, Boston: Beacon Press, pp. xix-20.

Week 5: Historical Antecedents: American Hegemony

22 March Cox, R. W. (1987) Production, Power and World Order, Social Forces in
the Making of History, Columbia University Press: New York, pp. 209-67.

Week 6: Globalization and Trade

29 March Robert Gilpin (2001), Global Political Economy, Understanding the
International Economic Order, Princeton: Princeton University Press, pp.
196-233.

Dani Rodrik (2018) Straight Talk on Trade, Ideas for a Sane World
Economy, Princeton University Press: Princeton, p. 1-14, 202-221 and
222-238. (Article to be reviewed)
2nd assignment: Reflection paper due date: 29 March

Week 7: Globalization, financialisation, financial crisis

5 April Costas Lapavitsas (2009), ‘Financialised Capitalism: Crisis and Financial
Expropriation’, Historical Materialism, 17, p. 114-148.

Costas Lapavitsas and Ivan Mendieta-Munoz (2016), ‘The Profits of

Financialization’, 68/3, Monthly Review, p. 49-62.

Mid-term exams 11-22 April 2022

Week 8: Globalization, Digital Capitalism and Developing Countries

26 April Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee (2014) The Second Machine Age,
Work, Progress, and Prosperity in a Time of Brilliant Technologies, New
York: W. W. Norton&Company. CHP 1 Big Stories + CHP 13+14+15
Recommendations (pg 167-207)

Week 9: Globalization, Labour and Anti-globalization Movement

3 May https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlIwAPitMK4

Bieler, A., Lindberg, I. and Pillay, D. (2008) ‘What future strategy for the
global working class? The need for a new historical subject’, in Bieler, A.,
Lindberg, I. and Pillay, D. (eds.), Labour and the Challenges of
Globalization: What Prospects for Transnational Solidarity, London: Pluto,
pp. 264-285.

Ronaldo Munck (2002) Globalisation and Labour, the new ‘Great

Transformation’, London: Zed Books, p. 77-134.

Week 10: Globalization and global health governance

10 May
Gita Sen (2019) ‘Fault-lines in global health, Intersecting inequalities,
human rights, and the SDGs’, in Richard Parker and Jonathan Garcia
(eds.), Routledge Handbook on the Politics of Global Health, London:
Routledge, p. 17-23.
Yanzhong Huang and Gabriella Meltzer (2019) ‘Reforming the World
Health Organization’ in Richard Parker and Jonathan Garcia (eds.),
Routledge Handbook on the Politics of Global Health, London: Routledge,
p. 135-148.
Week 11: VIDEO PRESENTATIONS
17 May

Week 12: Crisis of Globalization and Populism

24 May Dani Rodrik (2011) The Globalization Paradox, Why Global Markets,
States and Democracy Can’t Coexist, Oxford University Press: Oxford, p.
184-206; 236-247 and 251-280

Cas Mudde (2004), ‘The Populist Zeitgest’, Government and Opposition

39 (4), 541-63.

Jan-Werner Müller (2016) What is Populism?, Philadelphia: University of

Pennsylvania Press, p. 7-41 and 75-101.

Harvey and post-neoliberalism https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=wb6rhHyJJ_4

Week 13: POSTER PRESENTATIONS

31 May

Final Exams (6-17 June 2023)

Re-sit Exams (20-24 June 2023)