International Political Economy

This course studies the interaction between states, markets and civil society, in the fight against global poverty. More precisely it analyzes the roles of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Corporations and social entrepreneurs. The course addresses a number of issues: What do NGOs do and how do they finance their operations? Can multinational corporations play a role in the fight against global poverty, and if so, how? How can we make sense of so-called ’social enterprise’? What is the role of the state in regulating and encouraging private solutions to poverty? Are these private solutions further proof of economic liberal dominance or a move toward a new form of capitalism tailored to serve social needs?

In the contemporary world, tourism is often the foremost process that brings together people from different parts of the world, allowing those from vastly different societies to interact on a face-to-face basis under peaceful, if not always equal, circumstances. As such, tourism as a phenomenon and as a process raises questions about global interconnections and global movements of finance, cultural and material artifacts, ideas, and people across national and cultural boundaries. The two questions this course addresses throughout the semester are 1) what are the economic, political, social, cultural, and environmental impacts of tourism in low and middle income countries? and 2) what are the tradeoffs associated with tourism? In tackling these two questions the course examines a wide range of issues, including the political, economic, social, and cultural implications of tourism, the impact of global tourism on environmental and global conservation efforts, and tourism as a vehicle of social change and as a facilitator of cultural and material globalization. Crosslisted as IPE/SOAN 323.

Everyone eats, and therefore everyone has a relationship to global agriculture. But because less than one percent of the US population earns a living from farming, most Americans rarely think about where our food comes from. This course explores the origins of our current global food system, the political-economic relations that structure it, and emerging alternatives to industrial food. The course begins with an overview of the global food system, including the actors and ideas that have shaped its historical development. Second, students examine the dominant paradigm of industrial agriculture and the politics of its organization primarily in the US context. Finally, students discuss some of the most prescient debates over the future of our food system with a focus on the local context. Note: this course includes a required weekly three-hour experiential session in addition to regular class sessions. This experiential session provides students the opportunity for hands-on learning through field trips, volunteering, and community-based projects. Students use class materials to bring an analytical lens to these experiences, and the course culminates in a major research project and presentation that engages local community gardeners.

This course serves as an overview of the political, economic, social, and cultural processes shaping the region known as Southeast Asia. This course utilizes a range of disciplinary approaches in order to illustrate patterns of change in the Southeast Asian context. Throughout, the course integrates discussion of theoretical issues with examples from around Southeast Asia. By applying theoretical material to specific countries and real-world examples, the class explores the ways in which broad perspectives intersect with economic, political, and social issues to shape the nature and direction of change in Southeast Asia.

This course examines the efforts of states in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) to adapt to the international political economy. It examines and assesses the constraints and opportunities states face and how they have tried to reshape their political and economic institutions. Attention is paid to relationships that exist between the state, business, labor, civil society, international capital, and foreign governments. Topics include the relationship of economic reform to democratization, regional integration, religious radicalism, and corruption and illicit transactions.