IPE

Question 1

What is International Political Economy (IPE)?

Answer 1

A sub-discipline of International Relations focusing on the relationship between politics and the economy.

Question 2

When did IPE emerge as a distinct field?

Answer 2

Late 1960s to 1970s.

Question 3

What was a key debate in the early development of IPE?

Answer 3

The nature and meaning of interdependence as the world economy was changing.

Question 4

What does ‘high politics’ refer to in International Relations?

Answer 4

Focus on states and security.

Question 5

What does ‘low politics’ refer to in IPE?

Answer 5

Economic and social matters.

Question 6

Define international relations.

Answer 6

Relations between states.

Question 7

Define transnational relations.

Answer 7

Relationships that cut across the domestic-international divide involving both non-state and sub-state actors.

Question 8

What is the political economy tradition’s view on economy and politics?

Answer 8

They are interconnected.

Question 9

List the three fundamental premises of IPE by Underhill.

Answer 9

• The political and economic domains cannot be separated
• Political interaction establishes and transforms economic structures
• There is an intimate connection between domestic and international levels.

Question 10

What does IPE aim to study?

Answer 10

The ways in which economic and political factors affect each other.

Question 11

Has IPE grown into a separate discipline?

Answer 11

Yes, it has become a distinct discipline that draws from various fields.

Question 12

What are some key issues/areas of focus in IPE?

Answer 12

• Globalisation
• Production
• Trade
• Finance
• Multinational corporations
• North-South relations
• International organisations

Question 13

Describe the relationship between politics and the economy in Version 1.

Answer 13

• Politics: Relations of authority, states, power
• Economy: Relations of exchange, markets, efficiency, interactions.

Question 14

Describe the relationship between politics and the economy in Version 2.

Answer 14

• The economy encompasses all social and material activities
• Politics and economy are always intertwined.

Question 15

What is capitalism described as in the context of IPE?

Answer 15

A historically specific form of society that is a single, differentiated global system.

Question 16

Who are some key thinkers in IPE?

Answer 16

• Karl Marx
• Karl Polanyi
• Immanuel Wallerstein

Question 17

What does uneven development refer to in IPE?

Answer 17

Global inequalities and class power relations.

Question 18

What is a significant aspect of the relationship between class, gender, and race in IPE?

Answer 18

Intersections between class, gender, race power relations.

Question 19

True or False: The state is seen as competing with economic dynamics in IPE.

Answer 19

False.

Question 20

Fill in the blank: The world economy is __________.

Answer 20

international

Question 21

What themes are important for upcoming lectures in IPE?

Answer 21

• International vs global
• Actors/agency when economics and politics are interconnected
• Power relations
• Continuity and change.

Question 22

What is the primary aim of the lecture by Dr. Aliki Koutlou?

Answer 22

Thinking about power and authority in the global economy

Question 23

List the four key areas examined to understand power in the global economy.

Answer 23

• The market
• The state
• Transnational institutions
• Ideas

Question 24

What economic theory emerged as a solution to the crisis of stagflation in the 1970s?

Answer 24

Neoliberalism

Question 25

Define neoliberalism according to Harvey (2005).

Answer 25

[Neoliberalism] is a theory of political economic practices that proposes that human well-being can best be advanced by liberating individual entrepreneurial freedoms and skills within an institutional framework characterized by strong private property rights, free markets, and free trade.

Question 26

What are the main policy elements of neoliberalism?

Answer 26

* Market deregulation * Privatisation * Free Trade * Fiscal Discipline * Monetary Discipline

Question 27

What is globalization?

Answer 27

Process of increasing international interactions and accelerating international trade, capital, and information flows

Question 28

How did neoliberalism accelerate globalization?

Answer 28

By emphasizing and focusing on market expansion

Question 29

What are Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs)?

Answer 29

Neoliberal reforms as conditions to loans from IMF and World Bank

Question 30

What is the New International Division of Labour characterized by?

Answer 30

* Deindustrialisation * Relocation of deskilled tasks to lower-wage regions * Sub-contracting in labour-intensive consumer goods industries

Question 31

What does bifurcation of labour refer to?

Answer 31

The division between skilled, well-paid workers in the North and less skilled, low-paid, precarious labour in the South

Question 32

What is the effect of globalization on state power according to proponents of the globalization thesis?

Answer 32

Globalization has enhanced the power of markets vis-a-vis the state

Question 33

What technological advancements have contributed to the speed of global monetary and commodity flows?

Answer 33

Container ships and information technologies

Question 34

How can financial markets discipline state action?

Answer 34

Through speculative attacks on national currencies

Question 35

What is the concept of 'Retreat of the State'?

Answer 35

The diminishing authority of states in favor of transnational corporations and financial markets

Question 36

True or False: States have completely lost their policy-making powers in the face of globalization.

Answer 36

False

Question 37

What shift occurred in the nature of state power after the 1980s according to Cerny (1997)?

Answer 37

A shift from welfare states to competition states

Question 38

What role do BRICS economies play in the context of globalization?

Answer 38

They have integrated globalization through active and interventionist states

Question 39

What is the significance of state intervention during the 2008 financial crisis?

Answer 39

It helped stabilize the economy and prevent a massive economic collapse

Question 40

Fill in the blank: The responsibilities of international organisations have been strengthened since the _______.

Answer 40

[1990s]

Question 41

What is the role of ideas in shaping economic perspectives?

Answer 41

Ideas shape the way we view the economy and are subjectively constructed

Question 42

What does the idea of austerity imply regarding government finances?

Answer 42

Government finances must be stabilized if the debt crisis is viewed as a case of government overspending

Question 43

Who stated, 'There is no such thing as society'?

Answer 43

Former UK prime minister Margaret Thatcher

Question 44

What is the basis of capitalism?

Answer 44

The process of capital accumulation

Question 45

What happens when there is a lack of growth in capitalism?

Answer 45

It triggers crises

Question 46

What is the relationship between profit and labor in capitalism?

Answer 46

Profit is the unpaid work of labor in the production process

Question 47

How do capitalists maintain profit in a competitive market?

Answer 47

By exploiting workers to increase profits and beat competitors

Question 48

What is the disciplining power of capitalism?

Answer 48

The pressure to maintain profitability and competitiveness through exploitation of labor

Question 49

What does the integration of national economies into a global market represent?

Answer 49

States give rise to world market domination, losing control once established

Question 50

What does power in the global economy articulate with?

Answer 50

The disciplining logic of capitalist profitability and class relations of domination

Question 51

True or False: People can gain more political control over economic affairs under the capitalist mode of production.

Answer 51

False

Question 52

What is the trend of debt in the global economy?

Answer 52

Debt is soaring in the global economy. ## Footnote This indicates increasing reliance on borrowed money across various sectors.

Question 53

What is financialisation?

Answer 53

Financialisation refers to the growing influence of finance and proliferation of financial practices in the economy. ## Footnote This concept highlights the shift towards financial motives, financial markets, and financial actors in economic decision-making.

Question 54

Name one example of a recent financial crisis.

Answer 54

2008 Global financial crisis 2010s Greek debt crisis Covid financial crisis ## Footnote These crises illustrate the recurring vulnerabilities within the global financial system.

Question 55

What are exogenous shocks in the context of economic crises?

Answer 55

Factors external to the economy that trigger crises. ## Footnote Mainstream neoclassical economics suggests crises arise from outside market forces.

Question 56

Who argued that crises are essential elements of the capitalistic process?

Answer 56

Joseph Schumpeter. ## Footnote He believed crises are not random accidents but integral to capitalism's nature.

Question 57

What is securitisation?

Answer 57

Transforming loans/debt into saleable assets. ## Footnote This process gained prominence in the 1990s and contributed to the 2008 financial crisis.

Question 58

Fill in the blank: Financialisation led to the subprime market crisis in the US and its morphing into the _______.

Answer 58

Global Financial Crisis of 2008.

Question 59

What characterizes masculinised capitalism?

Answer 59

Aggressiveness, competitiveness, risk-taking behaviour rewarded and encouraged. ## Footnote This behaviour has been critiqued for contributing to financial crises.

Question 60

What criticism did feminist political economy pose regarding masculinised capitalism?

Answer 60

It reproduces gender norms and hierarchies while failing to critique financial markets themselves. ## Footnote This perspective highlights the need for a gender-sensitive analysis of economic systems.

Question 61

How have neoliberal policies since the 1980s affected inequality?

Answer 61

They have exacerbated inequalities by removing barriers to market expansion and dismantling the welfare state. ## Footnote This has led to increased profits for corporations while wages for workers stagnate.

Question 62

What is economic stagnation?

Answer 62

A prolonged downturn characterized by falling prices and profitability due to manufacturing overcapacities. ## Footnote This has been ongoing since the 1970s and has led firms to seek profits in financial markets.

Question 63

True or False: States have effective strategies to revive economic growth in the context of stagnation.

Answer 63

False.

Question 64

What role do states play in the context of financial deregulation?

Answer 64

States create conditions for financial market profitability and make access to credit easier. ## Footnote This can lead to a cycle of growing debt and risk of financial collapse.

Question 65

What does the term 'Privatised Keynesianism' refer to?

Answer 65

The encouragement of private debt to finance consumption in the absence of economic growth. ## Footnote This concept relates to how states have facilitated credit access to maintain consumption levels.

Question 66

Fill in the blank: Chronic overproduction and economic stagnation generate the need for more _______.

Answer 66

debt and finance.