International Political Economy

[dan greenberg]

Hey Lauren, what about IPE do you want to know? IPE itself could be defined as the relationship between politics and economics, and the relationship between domestic and international economies. And perhaps more so here than in regular markets, the question of 'what role does the government(s) play?' is fundamental.
For instance, Liberals would say that the market should be left up to the individual and the choices he makes, whereas mercantilists are basically realists that got lost on the way to International Relations, who think the political side is much more important than the economic one; mercantilists would use international trade as a way to further the interests of the state.

That's a broad overview, but if you're looking directly at the essay question, you may have some trouble in store, "Is Globalization the final form of the post 1945 liberal world trading order?" First off, what is globalization? We never came to a conclusion, and secondly, is the post 1945 trading order even liberal? The argument could be made that it was highly mercantilist, especially during the Cold War, what with sanctions and so forth, and the US embargo on Cuba, continuing to today. So what does everyone think? What role does/should government play in IPE? What are your takes on the essay question?