G F P P 3 11 4

I N T E R N AT I O N A L
POLITICAL
ECONOMY

Introduction to International
Political Economy
 Definitions and Concepts

Analytical Building Blocks: States, Market

& Societies
Levels of Analysis
UNIT
COVERAGE
Global Structures

Perspectives of IPE: An Overview

 WHAT IS POLITICS?

 Politics is ‘who gets what

and how’ (Lasswell 1938)

 Politics place emphasis on

the political pursuit of

power

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

 W H AT I S E C O N O M Y ?

� Economy is getting the best value

with scarce materials
� Economy places emphasis on
economic pursuit of wealth

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

 SO, WHAT IS INTERNATIONAL
POLITICAL ECONOMY (IPE) ?

IPE is ‘field of study that analyzes problems and questions arising from
parallel existence and dynamic interaction of ‘state’ and ‘market’ in
the modern world’ (Gilpin 1987).

IPE is ‘the interdisciplinary social science that the dynamic interactions

between markets, states, and societies, and how the tensions and conflicts
between arenas both affect and reflect the conditions outside the nation-
state and society‘ (Balaam & Dillman 2014:570).
A N A LY T I C A L B U I L D I N G B L O C K S

• States IDEAS
• Markets versus
• Societies INTEREST(S)
 ACTORS
• State Actors – government, local authorities
• Inter-Governmental Organizations – GATT/WTO, IMF, World Bank
• Club Forums – G7, G8, G20, BRICS, OECD
• Regional Groups – EU, ASEAN, Mercosur, SADC
• Market Actors – MNCs, Banks
• Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) – Green Peace, Amnesty
• Everyday Actors – elites, civilians, voters, politicians/authorities
 LEVELS OF ANALYSIS
• The Global Level [International System]
• The Interstate Level [Bilateral Relations/ Regional
Relations/ Inter-Regional Relations]
• The State/Societal Level [Factors within States –
Causal Factors]
• The Individual Level [State Leaders]
 STRUCTURES OF
I N T E R N AT I O N A L P O L I T I C A L E C O N O M Y

• The Production & Trade

• Finance & Monetary
• Security
• Knowledge & Technology
 STRUCTURAL POWER
(STRANGE 1988)

“the power to shape and determine the structures

of the global political economy within which other
states, their political institutions, their economic
enterprises and (not least) their scientists and other
professional people have to operate”
 PRODUCTION STRUCTURE

“A production
structure can be
defined as the sum of
all arrangements
determining what is
produced, by whom This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

and for whom, by what

methods and on what
terms ”
 FINANCIAL
STRUCTURE

“One way to describe the finance

structure is to say that it is the pattern
of money flows between and among
nations”.

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

 “When one person or group provides security for another
SECURITY (or contributes to that security), a security structure is
STRUCTURE created. The nature of this security structure depends on
the kind of bargain that is struck among its participant”.
 KNOWLEDGE
STRUCTURE

“It is often said that knowledge is

power. Knowledge is wealth, too, for
those who can use it effectively. Who
has knowledge and how it is used is
therefore an important factor in IPE”.
 PERSPECTIVES OF IPE

• Mercantilism (root of IR – Realism)

• Liberalism (root of IR – Liberalism)
• Structuralism (root of IR – Marxism)
• Constructivism (root of IR – Constructivism)
• Feminism (root of IR – Feminism)
 QUESTIONS TO PONDER
• Could vaccination issue, highlighted by UN Chief Antonio Gutteres, considered as an issue of
IPE? How? Why?

• Based on the vaccination issue, identify TWO (2) political actors? You must provide your
justification when determining these two political actors.

• Based on the vaccination issue, identify TWO (2) market actors? You must provide your
justification when determining these two market actors.

• Based on the vaccination issue, identify TWO (2) societal actors? You must provide your
justification when determining these two societal actors.
 C A S E S T U D Y:
UNGA2021 ANTONIO GUTTERES

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dv5rRpuuJm4&t=127s