Rizka Khairani 071012079 1 Ekonomi Politik Internasional

From International Trade to Imperialism: Global Expansion of International Political Economy.

Globalization is a choice, not a fact. It is a result of policy decisions and the politics that shape them. Here, Jeffry A. Frieden, in his article The Success Stories of the Golden Age, explores the golden age of globalization during the early years of the century. Langley also argues that "an Historical IPE is guided by structured social practices, social change, social space, social time and social orders as the principal categories along which inquiry is pursued" (Langley 2002: 128) In Friedens article, it provides an account of what is often referred to as the first era of globalization or in his case The Golden Age period between the late 1870s up to World War I when global trade and finance dramatically expanded, the movement of people around the globe became much more commonplace. In 1900 international trade reached record levels and the world's economies were more open to one another than ever before. In Friedens perspective, periods of globalization have always produced the better outcomes ranging from spreading prosperity to securing international peace:Market internationalism before 1914 was not all good. Domestic and international stability often rested on political systems that excluded the middle and working classes and on governments that ignored the poor. Only toward the end of the golden age did the working classes gain significant political representation and governments begin to address the concerns of those outside the economic and political elite. Before 1914 the benefits of international economic growth were available only to some of the people some of the time. (Frieden 2006:128) In essence, the social practice of International Political Economy took a rocket boost in the beginning of the 1900s, following the Industrial Revolution in 1879. In Friedens article, The Paris International Exposition showed the extent of how technology have spread around the world (though mostly in Europe) including Central Europe, Australia, Argentina and Japan those that were once outside the core countries, and changed the interactions between buyer and seller and the production process in between. In the 1990s, international trade has grown to nearly 20 percent of the worlds total production of goods and servicesaround $4 trillion a year. This volume of trade is almost five times larger than the worlds military spending. Overall, most political activity related to trade is concentrated in the industrialized

Rizka Khairani 071012079 2 Ekonomi Politik Internasional

countries of North America, Western Europe, and East Asia. Together, these countries account for 75 percent of all international trade. The Industrialization process is an accumulation of the development of technology as they ease and simplify the production process. The invention of the typewriter made the printing industrys results, like newspaper and books, much more accessible and reachable for more people at any given distance. Also, the development of industry in terms of chemical, progress of machinery and other heavy items made goods and services more efficiently and more reliable. Countering the high increase of goods were the increased number of demands by society, this went hand in hand and made the industrialization process exceed its speed even more. More modern mode of products began to replace traditional ones, the demands of machinery, radio and home telephone raised the numbers of those specific items produced and industrialization took speed again. But out of all the products demanded, the most popular was surely the automobile for never before has the world been able to be in full mobility with the added bonus of it not being exclusively made for the wealthy class. This was made possible due to the changing process of production, where they began to specialize and the number of labors and land for the industrial place also increased. The rapid enlargement and rapid development of industries like Ford and General Electrics made the expansion of industry in the world dominate. The interdependence between countries made the self realization that through the emergence of international competitors, it made sense that its own domestic industries were needed to be up to date and competitive to the rest of the world in order to survive. Global Integration was thus recognized. International interactions of economics were also catalyzed by the limited number of raw material in each country, thus the process of export and import took another leap forward and from this came reciprocation from other states. Health and Living standards also improved, this can be seen through countries like United States, Australia and New Zealand where the living standards even exceeded Great Britain. From the explanation above, it can be concluded that industrialization in the early 1900s made the application of international political economy come to life and implemented into our daily lives through the many products available as a result. The demands and supplies reciprocated and accelerated the wheel of economy in terms of industry and made global integration possible.

Rizka Khairani 071012079 3 Ekonomi Politik Internasional

Reference: Frieden, Jeffrey A., 2006. Success Stories of the Golden Age, dalam Imperialism: From the Colonial Age to the Present. New York: Monthly Review Press, pp 94-113. Langley, Paul. 2002. World Financial Orders: An Historical International Political Economy, RIPE Series in Global Political Economy. London: Routledge