International Political Economy IR 312-02 MW 12:20-2pm HSS 285 Spring 2009 Prerequisites: I R 104 (Majors only) and I R 308 (may be taken concurrently); ENG 214 or equivalent and upper division standing Professor Amy Skonieczny (pronounced Scone-yez-knee) Office: HSS 354 Phone: Office: 405-2696, Cell: 612-227-2324 until 10pm Email: askonie@sfsu.edu Hours: W 2-5pm or by appointment Teaching Assistant Ashley Albaniel IR Graduate Student Phone: Email: ashley@sfsu.edu Course Description: The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the political and social underpinnings of the global economy. We will examine the politics of who makes, governs and decides international economic policy and why this matters for global politics. We will address major historical and material features of how our global economic system came to be and analyze the contestations and conflicts that arise in this current system. Students will gain a theoretically grounded understanding of =globalization‘ and how this concept affects current imaginings of a global future. We will also attend to current issues in economic affairs and give special attention to inequalities in the global economic system. A primary objective of the course is to acquaint students with different theoretical interpretations of political economy to help frame our understanding of economic issues and thus better position students as political actors and scholars in an increasingly interconnected world. Course Readings (available in the SFSU bookstore and at amazon.com): Required Robert O‘Brien & Marc Williams (2007) Global Political Economy . 2nd Edition Palgrave/MacMillan . Joseph Stiglitz (2003) Globalization and its Discontents. W.W. Norton and Co. Jeffrey Sachs (2006) The End of Poverty. Penguin Press. Diana Hacker (2008) A Pocket Style Manual. 5th Edition. Bedford/St. Martin‘s. Course Assignments: Classroom participation/on-time attendance 10% Peer Review of Papers 5% Midterm Exam 25% Policy Report/Case Study 25% Paper Presentation 10% Final Exam 25% Course Requirements: Classroom Participation It is expected that students will attend class and will come prepared, having read and thought about the assigned readings. This is what it means to be a student. Because active engagement in the classroom (beyond mere attendance) is required, classroom participation is given substantial weight in grading. There will be opportunities for group discussions as well as class discussion. Receiving credit for class participation involves regular attendance in class, participation in group activities, occasional short writing assignments, and overall active engagement in the classroom. On-Time Attendance Attendance is required for this course. Everyone begins class with 103% participation and 5 points are lost each time you have are LATE or ABSENT without prior notification. If you have 4 or more unexcused absences, you will not receive ANY credit for participation. During student presentations, absences count double, meaning that any unexcused absence on the day of a debate will drop your participation grade by 10 points. Please email me in advance if you are sick (unless this is impossible) and bring documentation to the next class. To reward those with perfect attendance, if you have perfect on-time attendance, you gain an extra 3% towards your final grade. This has been known to make the difference between an A- and an A for a number of students. Exams There will be two in-class exams. The first will cover the theoretical debates and issues surveyed in the first half of the course. The final exam will focus primarily on the second section of the course, but may include elements that are cumulative. Exams will be some combination of short answer and essay questions. You must be in class to receive and return the exam. Midterm: Mar. 11 Final: May 20, 10:45 am Policy Report/Case Study Students will have a choice of writing either a policy report or a case study of a specific economic crisis. The policy report will address the current economic circumstances and issue of a specific country of your choice. It will be written in formal policy report format (handout coming on this) and includes recommendations for future courses of action. Alternatively, you may choose to write a case study on a past economic =crisis‘ in a specific country. A case study challenges you to examine a past event in detail and to draw conclusions from your analysis of what happened and why. The paper should be 15 pages long. Due: May 13th. More details follow below. Topic Due: Feb. 25 Rough Draft Due: Mar 30 (peer review Apr. 1) Final Paper Due: May 13th Policy Report A policy report documents and analyzes the economic circumstances of a country or region that you will choose. It traces the historical processes and identifies the key causal factors that have produced the current circumstances. Finally, it draws .policy. conclusions, including identifying .problems,. priorities, and solutions or directions for action. The policy report should include some background material on your chosen country that includes: (1) a profile of the current circumstances of the country, drawing on both statistically and qualitatively expressed evidence; and (2) an historical narrative, highlighting important events and processes that helped shape the current circumstances and continue to affect future prospects of the country. You will build on the material in the background section to provide (1) an account of the current circumstances of the country; and (2) a policy analysis that identifies key development .problems,. obstacles to solving these .problems,. and policy recommendations. The written report will begin with an .executive summary. and end with .policy recommendations.. A more detailed handout will be forthcoming. Case Study Alternatively you may choose to analyze a =case‘ of economic crisis in a specific country (ex: Bolivia, Argentina, etc). A =case‘ is a narrative of an actual or realistic problem that typically portrays policy makers confronted with the need to make a decision. You will have an opportunity to research in detail a specific crisis and draw conclusions from your analysis. Here are some tips for developing a case study of a specific economic crisis: 1. Get a sense of the whole issue. Who are the central characters? What is the story about? What have others said about this issue? What do you find most interesting about this issue? 2. State the issues that you will focus on in this case. Ask yourself, what is the case really about? What problems are the people in it dealing with? Where do you see conflict between ideas, perspective, and values? 3. Prepare to justify, present and explain your analysis. More on this assignment will be forthcoming. Peer Review You will be asked to provide written comments and verbal feedback on two papers. More on this later. Presentations Students will be asked to present their papers during the class. Students will be asked to present the main findings of their research in a 12-15min presentation. Course Policies Computers and Cell Phones Computers may be used for note-taking with special permission. If you have not requested special permission from me in writing via email, you may not use your computer during class time. I circulate throughout the classroom and if I see a computer screen with anything on it other than notes (i.e. Word), your permission to use the computer will be revoked. Please refrain from =texting‘ while in class. I will consider any =texting‘ =unprofessional‘ and disrespectful to our learning environment. We are inundated with media and the classroom is in many ways a =throwback‘ to an earlier era where learning and engagement with ideas are exchanged in person and stimulated by the responses and comments from others. This time is crucial for intellectual development and is a =safe space‘ apart from outside interference (i.e. facebook, IM, texts from friends, etc.). Please respect the classroom space and plan on contacting the outside world after the class period is over. Late Work Late work is highly discouraged. To encourage students to turn in work on time and to fairly reward students who do, the penalty for late work is severe. All late work will be penalized one full grade (e.g., B to C) for every day 24 hours it is late starting with the time it is due. Exams will be held in-class and no make-up exams will be offered unless there is a legitimate excuse (see Make-Up exam policy below). In-Class Presentations In-class presentations must be conducted on the assigned day. In the case of a verified illness or family emergency, the instructor must be contacted 24 hours in advance and written verification must be presented. Make-Up Exams Students are expected to take exams at the times scheduled in the syllabus. However, make-up exams are permitted in the case of verified illness, family emergency, or a legitimate conflict with recognized SFSU activities. It is the responsibility of the student to notify faculty members of such circumstances as far in advance as possible. All make-up exams are offered only at the discretion of the instructor. Incompletes Incomplete coursework is a major inconvenience for students and instructors. I expect you to do everything in your power to avoid this situation. Legitimate excuses include verified illnesses and family emergencies. No incompletes will be given unless you have a prior written agreement with the instructor. Grade Disputes I will try my best to give adequate explanation for the grades I assign. However, if you wish to dispute the grade assigned to a paper or a question on an exam, you must do so IN WRITING within 24 hours after the exam or paper has been returned. You must include a specific rationale for your dispute with the given grade and be clear about my explanation for the grades given. Return of Coursework I will make my best effort to return mid-term exams to you in a prompt fashion. Final exams will be kept through the fourth week of the next semester. If you would like to pick up your work or review your final exam, stop by during posted spring office hours, or contact me to make other arrangements. Students with Disabilities This syllabus is available in alternative formats upon request. It is our policy to provide, on a flexible and individualized basis, reasonable accommodations to students who have disabilities that may affect their ability to participate in course activities or to meet course requirements. Students with disabilities are encouraged to contact me as soon as possible to discuss their individual needs for accommodations. Additionally, students should contact the SFSU Disability Programs and Resource Center in Student Services Building 110 for more information on accommodation and assistance. Academic Integrity Academic integrity is essential to a positive teaching and learning environment. All students enrolled in SFSU courses are expected to complete coursework responsibilities with fairness and honesty. Failure to do so by seeking unfair advantage over others or misrepresenting someone else‘s work as your own, can result in disciplinary action. Scholastic dishonesty is defined as follows: Scholastic Dishonesty: Scholastic dishonesty means plagiarizing; cheating on assignments or examinations; engaging in unauthorized collaboration on academic work; taking, acquiring, or using test materials without faculty permission; submitting false or incomplete records of academic achievement; acting alone or in cooperation with another to falsify records or to obtain dishonestly grades, honors, awards, or professional endorsement; altering forging, or misusing a college academic record; or fabricating or falsifying data, research procedures, or data analysis. Within this course, a student responsible for scholastic dishonesty can be assigned a penalty up to and including an "F" or "N" for the course. If you have any questions regarding the expectations for a specific assignment or exam, ask. Grades Grades will be assigned based on a 100 point scale. On each assignment you will receive points based on instructor evaluation. The final grades for the course will adhere to the following 100 point scale: A 100-94 A- 93-90 B+ 89-87 B 86-84 B- 83-80 C+ 79-77 C 76-74 C- 73-70 D+ 69-67 D 66-60 Occasionally there will be spontaneous opportunities for extra credit based on instructor discretion. Course Calendar Readings listed on the stated date should be COMPLETED by that date. *indicates electronic reading available as a pdf on Ilearn. Week 1 Jan. 26 Course introduction and overview Jan. 28 Competing ideas of the World Economy: Protect or liberalize? Read: O‘Brien and Williams, Ch. 1, pp. 11-25 *Steve H. Hanke (2005) .Stop the Mercantilists., Cato Institute, June 20. *Johan Norberg (2003) .We Need Sincere Free Trade., Cato Institute, Sept. 10 Assignment: Bring in one newspaper article that exemplifies the dilemma of protectionism and liberalism. Week 2 Feb. 2 Origins of Economic System and Theories of IPE Read: O‘Brien and Williams, Ch. 2 and 3 Film: Guns, Germs and Steel—Out of the Garden, part 1. Feb. 4 Rise of US Power/ Post WWII Order Read: O‘Brien and Williams, Ch. 4 .The 20th Century: World Wars and the post-1945 Order. pp. 106-130 * Krauthammer , Charles (1990/1991) .The Unipolar Moment.. Foreign Affairs, Vol. 70 Issue 1, America and the World p23-33 *Susan George .A Brief History of Neoliberalism. Week 3 Feb. 9 Mercantilism/Protectionism Read: *Bruce Moon, Dilemmas of Trade, Ch. 2, pp. 33-64 *Friedrich List, .Political and Cosmopolitical Economy. in Theoretical Evolution, pp. 35-36; pp. 48-54 Feb. 11 Liberalism: Smith and Ricardo Read: O‘Brien and Williams, Ch. 5 .International Trade. pp.137-147 (only for now) *Adam Smith and David Ricardo in Theoretical Evolution, pp. 55-82 Week 4 Feb. 16 No Class – International Studies Association Conference (www.isanet.org) Feb. 18 No Class – International Studies Association Conference Week 5 Feb. 23 Liberal Ideology and the Spread of Ideas Read: * Introduction by Paul Krugman to The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money, by John Maynard Keynes. Online at: http://www.pkarchive.org/economy/GeneralTheoryKeynesIntro.html * Excerpts from Milton Friedman, Capitalism and Freedom (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1962), Chapter 1, "The Relation Between Economic Freedom and Political Freedom," pp. 7-17. Online at: http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/ipe/friedman.htm Film: Commanding Heights, Ch. 1-6 Feb. 25 Marxism /Neomarxism/critical theory Read: O‘Brien and Williams, Ch. 7 .The Global Financial System. pp. 208-218 *Excerpts of Karl Marx "Communist Manifesto" and "The German Ideology", and Lenin's "The Export of Capital" in Theoretical Evolution, pp. 83-106 *Mark Rupert, Ideologies of Globalization, pp. 2-15 Film: Commanding Heights, Battle for the World Economy, part 2 Paper Topics Due Today!! Please turn in a 1 page paper proposal (either Case Study or Policy Report) that indicates what you will be analyzing/examining in your paper. Be as specific as possible and included some citations that indicate you have explored what is available on your topic as well as your likely argument/thesis for your paper. Please include 10 references in your bibliography Week 6 Mar. 2 Library Workshop: Advanced IR Research Skills You may bring your own laptop computer to this session. Meet at 210 Burke Hall on time at 12:20pm Read: Visit http://www.library.sfsu.edu/research/guides/guides.html Read http://www.library.sfsu.edu/research/guides/ir-scholarly-journals.html Read http://www.library.sfsu.edu/research/guides/foreign-country-info.html Read: *Plagiarism Avoided: Taking Responsibility For Your Work, a helpful publication from Univ. of British Columbia. Find it at: http://www.arts.ubc.ca/Plagiarism_Avoided.373.0.html. Mar. 4 Constructivism: Ideas and Identities in IPE Read: O‘Brien and Williams, Ch. 12 . Ideas. pp. 363-382 *David Campbell, (1994) .Foreign Policy and Identity: Japanese .Other./American .Self. in The Global Economy as Political Space, eds. Stephen J. Rosow, Naeem Inayatullah and Mark Rupert, pp. 147-170 *Amy Skonieczny, (2001) .Constructing NAFTA: Myth, Representation and the Discursive Construction of US Foreign Policy.. International Studies Quarterly. Week 7 Mar. 9 Feminism Read: O‘Brien and Williams, Ch. 9 . Gender. pp. 265-291 *Cynthia Enloe, (2004) .The Surprised Feminist. in The Curious Feminist, pp. 13-18 *Cynthia Enloe, (1990) .Blue Jeans and Bankers. in Bananas, Beaches and Bases, pp. 151-176 *V. Spike Peterson, (2003) A Critical Rewriting of Global Political Economy, pp. 44-77 Film: Who‘s Counting? Marilyn Waring on Sex, Lies & Global Economics. AV# 87773 Mar. 11 Midterm Week 8 Mar. 16 Global Governance/Institutions Read: O‘Brien and Williams, Ch. 5 (cont) pp. 147-173 Show film: Gatt to WTO Mar. 18 North/South Gap and the rise of India/China Read: O‘Brien and Williams, Ch. 10 .Economic Development. pp. 292-331 Read: your choice of one: Jeffrey Sachs, Ch. 8 .China. or Ch. 9 .India. Film: Life the story so far? AV# 66253 Week 9 Mar. 23/25 Spring Break!! Week 10 Mar. 30 Global Finance and the rise of MNCs Read: O‘Brien and Williams, Ch 6 .Transnational Production. pp. 174-206 Jeffrey Sachs, .Bolivia‘s Hyperinflation. in End of Poverty, pp. 90-109 Due: Rough Draft (Please submit one via iLearn and bring two hard copies to class to give to your peer reviewers) Film: Coffee Black Gold? Apr. 1 Global Environment and IPE Read: O‘Brien and Williams, Ch 11 .Global Environmental Change. pp. 332-361 Peer Review: Writing Workshop – Bring comments and peer rubric to class today! Week 11 Apr. 6 Globalization Intro to Globalization Debate Read: *Dilemmas of Trade, pp. 183-218 *David Held and Anthony McGrew, (2003) Globalization/Anti-Globalization, pp. 98-117 Apr. 8 Globalization and its Discontents Read: Joseph E. Stiglitz, (2003) Globalization and Its Discontents, pp. 3-52 Week 12 Apr. 13 Globalization and its Discontents, Cont.. Read: Joseph E. Stiglitz, (2003) Globalization and Its Discontents, pp.53-132 Presentations: Case Studies Begin Apr. 15 Read: Joseph E. Stiglitz, (2003) Globalization and Its Discontents, pp.133-166 Presentations: Case Studies Week 13 Apr. 20 Asian Crisis and Globalization Film: Commanding Heights—Asian Crisis Read: Joseph E. Stiglitz, (2003) Globalization and Its Discontents, pp. 166-195 Presentations: Case Studies Apr. 22 Read: Joseph E. Stiglitz, (2003) Globalization and Its Discontents, pp. 195-258 Presentations: Case Studies Week 14 Apr. 27 Critics of Globalization, cont. Read: other critics reading *John Cavanagh and Jerry Mander, (2004) Alternatives to Economic Globalization, pp. 32-74 Presentations: Case Studies Apr. 29 Alternatives to Globalization Read: Dollars and Sense, Ch. 9 (Choose 2 articles) *John Cavanagh and Jerry Mander, (2004) Alternatives to Economic Globalization, pp. 105-146; pp. 271-300 Film: The take Presentations if necessary Week 15 May 4 Development, Poverty and Inequality Read: O‘Brien and Williams, Ch 10 pp. 292-331 Jeffrey Sachs, End of Poverty, pp. 1-89 Presentations: Policy Reports May 6 End of Poverty Read: Jeffrey Sachs, End of Poverty, pp. 210-287 Presentations: Policy Reports Week 16 May 11 End of Poverty Read: Jeffrey Sachs, End of Poverty, pp. 288-329 Presentations: Policy Reports May 13 End of Poverty Read: Jeffrey Sachs, End of Poverty, pp. 329-347 Presentations: Policy Reports Papers due May 20 Final exam 10:45-1:15pm