International Political Economic Studies

Paper Summary:

This paper looks at how the realist and liberal perspectives can be used to explain and provide insight into the international political economy within the context of globalization. It then compares these perspectives to the structuralist perspective and argues that the structuralist perspective provides the greatest and most useful insights into globalization and contemporary international political economy.

From the Paper:

"The realist perspective of IPE, or international relations and international economic relations between states, may be one of the most enduring of the three explanatory and theoretical models referred to in the introduction but, it is, nonetheless problematic. Realism, as the current section shall try to elucidate, is based on a number of assumptions which, ironically, are not consistently realistic in the sense that they hold equally true for all times and places. Peter J. Kazenstein implies as much in "Domestic Structures and Strategies of Foreign Economic Policy," wherein he maintains that the globalization framework seems somewhat at odds with the hypothesis of states consistently acting for expansion and preservation of their "power," not to mention for the protection of their national interests (891-893). While this section of the paper will not dispute that states are the primary actors, either within the domestic or international arena, or that state actions are primarily directed by concern over national security and power status, it will argue that within a globalized world the very concept of national security, interest and power has expanded to include economic interests. That does not mean to imply that the realist perspective overlooked the economic component of power and national interest but, that it underplayed its importance. Cohn admits this when he writes that "realists have developed their theories by drawing mainly on politics and history rather than economics; ... [and that] the realists' emphasis on power has most often directed their attention to strategic-security issues rather than to economic issues" (59). Bearing this specific weakness in mind, and pending a definition of the realist perspective, this section shall try to illustrate that while certain aspects of the realist perspective are no longer very realistic, given the framework of globalization, this particular perspective still contains a number of principle beliefs which provide the student with greater insight into international political economy, or IPE."

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