International Political Economy

This course focuses on  analysis of political and socioeconomic policies at an international level. It helps highlight the various ways national and international polices are influenced by power dynamics and socioeconomic conditions that are present in different spaces around the world. It calls for a realistic and critical reflection on understanding various issues within international political economy such as Neo-patrimonialism, Conflict, Aid, Development, Corruption, Institutions, Governance, Power etc. The course further deals with practical questions such as to what extent are various political economy policies successful or not in responding to various world challenges.  Due to the fact that this is an applied course, prior knowledge of political economy concepts is necessary. Also note that in this course, students  take a leading role in analyzing policies and producing policy briefs for different case studies.
On Tuesdays the class focuses on contextualizing concepts and highlighting existing empirical evidence regarding their effects around the world. Thursdays are used for group presentations based on specific policy analysis case studies.
 
Topics to be covered

• Policy analysis
• Policy implementation
• Institutions
• Trade regimes
• Foreign Aid
• Economic globalization
• Economic crises
• The Bretton Woods Institutions and the world economy
• Global inequality
• Politics of migration
• North-South relations
• Climate change
• Conflict and development