Political Economy & Global Affairs

Helps students develop analytic explanatory skills not just for describing what happens in the international political economy, but explaining why policymakers select their choices in an era of increasing globalization. International political economy cannot be understood from the perspective of the international system alone. Domestic politics factor heavily in issues such as trade, monetary policy, foreign debt, and development. How can we best understand how decisions and events at the national level affect outcomes and policy in the international arena? "Political Economy and Global Affairs" focuses on the individual preferences, strategies, and choices of political-economic policymakers and presents a concise but detailed historical overview of globalization that demonstrates the shortcomings of common models in the field. The core assumptions of scarcity, political survival, and rationality form the basis for this 'micro-level' approach. By focusing on an understanding of market failure and social traps, collective action problems, interest groups, institutions, and political parties, Sobel works through a set of tools that better explains behaviour and outcomes in the international political economy.