POL540A

The course will examine connections between politics and economics beyond the single nation state, with an emphasis on policy implications in the 21st century. Students will be introduced to; free market (AKA liberal, neoclassical); institutionalist (AKA pluralist, multi-centric organizational); and historical materialist (AKA Marxist, structuralist). Each perspective will be presented by specifying its particular thought 'model', underlying assumptions, and application to real-world issues. The course will compare and contrast these perspectives with respect to core global political economy (GPE) issues such as trade, finance, transnational corporations, development and environmental sustainability.