Information Package
baskent.edu.tr

Program of Political Science and International Relations (English 30%)

PSIR490

INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY

Course Code
PSIR490
Semester
-
Theory+Practice
3 + 0
ECTS
5
Course TypeCompulsory Course
Course LevelBachelor's Degree
Year of Study-
Semester-
ECTS5
Name of Lecturer(s)
Learning Outcomes

At the end of this course, the students;

  1. Be able to identify and discuss the basic approaches to international political economy (mercantilist, liberal, Marxist, and constructivist approaches).
  2. Understand the key elements of the concepts of capitalism, neoliberalism, globalization, and imperialism, as well as the relationships among them.
  3. Examine different approaches to the issues of development and underdevelopment.
  4. Gain knowledge about the historical stages of the formation and transformation of the world economy.
  5. Explains the fundamental elements of the global production, trade, and financial systems.
  6. Can discuss the key features of the Bretton Woods monetary system and the transformations that emerged following its collapse.
  7. Understands the dynamics underlying the emergence of economic crises.
  8. Can explain the causes and effects of the 2008 crisis.
Mode of DeliveryFace to face
PrerequisitesNo
Recommended Optional Programme ComponentsThere is no recommended optional programme component for this course.
Course DescriptionThis course offers a critical and historically grounded introduction to International Political Economy (IPE) by tracing the development of capitalism from mercantilism to neoliberalism. The course emphasizes the interrelationship between politics and economics and highlights the distinction between the fundamental logic of the capitalist mode of production and the historical periodization commonly used in IPE. By analyzing key historical periods on a weekly basis, students will examine the changing roles of hegemonic states, the organization of production, trade regimes, and the development of financial and monetary systems. By connecting key IEP theories to historical transformations, students will develop their critical thinking skills and gain a detailed understanding of the historical and structural dynamics of global capitalism.
Course Contents
WEEK TOPICS
1st Week Introduction
2nd Week Transition to Capitalism (Classical/liberal (natural evolution), Braudel and world system analysis (mercantile), The Brenner debate (production))
3rd Week The Mercantile Roots of Capital: Guns, Gold, and Colonies (Making of national markets and states (16th and 17th centuries), Iberian mercantilism, Mercantilist approaches to IPE (I))
4th Week The Agrarian Roots of Capital: Land, Labor, and Market (From the Dutch golden age to English hegemony (17th and 18th centuries), Classical political economy, Liberal approaches to IPE (II))
5th Week When the Machine Met the Worker (Industrial revolution (early 19th century), Karl Marx and the critique of capital, Marxist approaches to IPE (III))
6th Week Imperialism and the Expansion of Capital (Imperial systems (late 19th and early 20th centuries), Long Depression (1873-1896), Classical theories of imperialism)
7th Week Mid-Term
8th Week Crisis and Keynesian Turn (Taylor and Ford, The Great Depression (1929), The birth of macro-governance)
9th Week Building the Post-War Order (Bretton Woods system (World Bank and IMF), Fordism, Developmentalism and dependency)
10th Week Breaking the Golden Age: The 1970s (Crisis of consent, crisis of accumulation (1968-1982), Neo-Gramscian Approaches to IPE (IV))
11th Week Capital Strikes Back: Neoliberal Re-Structuring (Post-Fordism: Flexible labor, rigid finance, Transformation of the state, Financialization)
12th Week Crisis Without End (Financial crises in the 1980s and 1990s, 2008 Global Financial Crisis and the Eurozone Crisis)
13th Week After American Empire: Who Rules Global Capitalism? (The rise of China, Multipolar capitalism?)
14th Week General Review
Recommended or Required ReadingAkçay, Ümit & Ali Rıza Güngen (2019). Finansallaşma, Borç Krizi ve Çöküş: Küresel Kapitalizmin Geleceği. İstanbul: NotaBene Yayınları.
Balaam, David N. & Bradford Dillman (2015). Uluslararası Ekonomi Politiğe Giriş. Çev. Nasuh Uslu. Ankara: Adres Yayınları.
Beaud, Michel (2016). Kapitalizmin Tarihi, 1500-2010. İstanbul: Yordam Kitap.
Fine, Ben & Alfredo Saad-Filho (2012). Marx?ın Kapital?i. Çev. Nail Satlıgan. İstanbul: Yordam Kitap.
Harvey, David (2015). Neoliberalizmin Kısa Tarihi. İstanbul: Sel Yayıncılık.
Öztürk, Özgür (2006). Emperyalizm Kuramları ve Sermayenin Uluslararasılaşması. Praksis, 15, 271-309.
Sönmez, Sinan (2016). Bretton Woods, Fordizm ve Hegemonya. Hacettepe Üniversitesi İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Fakültesi Dergisi, 34(1), 43-62.
Tekdal, Veysel (2016). Dünya Düzeni ve Hegemonya: Neo-Gramşiyan Yaklaşımlar. İçinde F. Yalvaç (Der.). Tarihsel Materyalizm ve Uluslararası İlişkiler (ss. 215-248). Ankara: İmge Kitabevi.
Wood, Ellen Meiksins (2020). Kapitalizmin Kökeni: Geniş Bir Bakış. Çev. A. Cevdet Aşkın. İstanbul: Yordam Kitap.
Yörük, Erdem (2018). Çin?in Yükselişi ve Yeni Kapitalizm. Sosyoekonomi, 26(36), 197-208.
Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods
  • Lecture
Assessment Methods and Criteria
Quantity Percentage (%)
Mid-term 1 40
Other 1 15
Total(%) 55
Contribution of In-term Studies to Overall Grade(%) 55
Contribution of Final Examination to Overall Grade(%) 45
Total(%) 100
ECTS Allocated Based on Student Workload
Activities Quantity Duration (Hour) Total Workload (Hour)
Midterm exam 1 1 1
Preparation for Quiz
Individual or group work 14 2 28
Preparation for Final exam 1 50 50
Course hours 14 3 42
Preparation for Midterm exam 1 30 30
Laboratory (including preparation)
Final exam 1 1 1
Homework
Total Work Load152
Total Work Load / 30 (h)5.06
ECTS Credit of the Course5
Language of InstructionTurkish
Work Placement(s)No

Programme Qualifications / Learning Outcomes

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K2 X X X X X
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K5
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K7 X
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