University of Oregon

Political Science 399

 

The Political Economy of North-South Relations

 

Professor Genie Baker

 

Class

Office

Fall 2004

Hours: Mon 4-6 & by appt.

MW 2-3:20

920 PLC, 346-4623

112 Lillis

genie@darkwing.uoregon.edu

 

 

Course Description

     The contours of contemporary international political science took shape in the aftermath of the two World Wars, and so has historically been dominated by the study of great power politics.  In recent years, though, it has become clear that some of the most significant challenges in the international system come from the developing world – by and large, countries south of the equator.  From an economic perspective, financial crises in Asia and Latin America have surprised investors and policymakers alike and have destabilized the international economy.  From a humanitarian perspective, the persisting poverty of the majority of the world’s citizens remains a problem that we cannot conscionably ignore.  From a security perspective, the world’s poor appear to have little stake in the international order we dominate and so have every incentive to destroy it.

     At the same time, development scholars have recognized that political and economic transformations in today’s developing world cannot be understood without reference to the international environment imposed by the wealthiest countries in the world – for the most part, countries north of the equator.  This course will introduce the changing perspectives and current controversies concerning the appropriate “rules of the game” for the international economic system.  Should developing countries be given special consideration in trade and financial agreements?  Do international financial institutions (IFIs) like the IMF, the World Bank and the WTO act in the interest of the world as a whole or serve the narrower interest of the powerful north?  How are domestic imperatives balanced with global aims?

 

Required Readings

    The course will be based primarily on readings made available through blackboard (https://blackboard.uoregon.edu); any changes to the syllabus will also be posted there.  In addition, we will read most of the following books:

 

 Paul Blustein (2003) The Chastening: Inside the Crisis that Rocked the Global Financial System and Humbled the IMF.  Public Affairs.

 

Joseph E. Stiglitz (2002) Globalization and its Discontents.  New York: Norton. 

 

Course Requirements and Grading

 

·         Two of three pop quizzes, 5% each, 10% total:  There will be 3 unannounced pop quizzes during the term; they will cover assigned readings and lectures.  Your top two quiz scores will be used to compute your final grade, so there will be no penalty if you miss one quiz.  There will be no makeup quizzes.

 

·         Midterm Exam, 40%: The in-class midterm will be held Monday, November 1st, and will include both short answer and essay questions.

 

·         Final, 50%.  Undergraduates will write a take-home final.  Graduate students may write a term paper instead.

 

Late or missed assignments:  If you miss the midterm exam, you will need a medical excuse to take a make-up examination.  If you submit a late final exam/paper, you will need a medical excuse to avoid a 5-point per day penalty.  (100 points total.)

 

Academic Integrity, Plagiarism, Fabrication, Cheating, and Misconduct:

 

I strongly believe that a university degree should be a sign of significant accomplishment and a source of great pride, and therefore maintain a zero-tolerance-for-cheating policy.   Make sure you are familiar with the University Policy on Academic Dishonesty.  Anyone suspected of committing an act of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Director of Student Judicial Affairs.  Those found guilty will receive an F in the class, and may be subject to additional penalties such as expulsion, suspension, negative notation on the transcript, revocation of the degree, disciplinary probation, community service, loss of privileges, or conduct reprimand. 

 

University guidelines concerning academic dishonesty are described in http://www.uoregon.edu/~conduct/sai.htm, and http://libweb.uoregon.edu/guides/plagiarism/students/  .  Make sure you are familiar with them, as lack of familiarity or “unintentional” cheating will not be considered a legitimate defense.

 

Week 1: Introduction

 

  • Sept. 27: Course Introduction

 

Optional Readings: 

 

Moisés Naím (2003) “The Five Wars of Globalization.” Foreign Policy, 134  (January-February): 29-37.

 

Bernard Gordon (2003) “A High-Risk Trade Policy.” Foreign Affairs 82,4 (July-August):105-18.

 

Mike Moore (2003) “Multilateral Meltdown.” Foreign Policy 135 (March-April):74-75.

 

Kenneth Rogoff (2003) “The IMF Strikes Back.” Foreign Policy 134 (January-February):39-46.

 

  • Sept. 29: Major Perspectives (International Relations Theory)

 

Reading:  Joan Spero and Jeffrey Hart, The Politics of International Economic Relations 6th ed., chapter 5 (pp. 171-191).

 

 

Week 2: Some History, Introduction to International Institutions

 

  • Oct. 4: The International Monetary System

 

Reading: Spero and Hart, chapters 1 & 2

 

·         Oct. 6: The International Trading System

 

Reading: Spero and Hart, chapter 3

 

 

Week 3: Politics and International Institutions

 

·         Oct. 11: Theoretical Perspectives

 

Reading:  Stephen Krasner (1999) “Theories of International Institutions and International Politics.”  Sovereignty: Organized Hypocrisy.  Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, pp. 43-72.

 

G. John Ikenberry (2003) “America and the Ambivalence of Power.”  Current History 102, 667 (November): 377-82.

 

Robert Rothstein (1988) “Epitaph for a Monument to a Failed Protest?  A North-South Retrospective.”  International Organization 42,4 (Autumn): 725-48.

 

Stephen Krasner (1999) “Theories of International Institutions and International Politics.”  Sovereignty: Organized Hypocrisy.  Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, pp. 43-72.Goldstein, ch. 3, pp. 75-83

 

·         Oct. 13: Current Politics

Reading:  Devesh Kapur (2000) “Who Gets to Run the World?” Foreign Policy 121 (November-December): 44-50.

 

Moisés Naím (2000) “A Talk with Michel Camdessus: The Exit Interview.” Foreign Policy 120 (September-October):32-45.

 

Stephen Fidler (2001) “Who’s Minding the Bank?” Foreign Policy 126 (September-October):40-50.

 

Blustein, chapters 1 and 2.

 

Week 4: Introduction to Development Economics

 

·         Oct. 18: Overview of Economic Development

 

Reading: Debraj Ray (1998) Development Economics.  Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.  Chapters 1 & 2.

 

·         Oct. 20: Economic Growth

 

Reading: Ray, skim chapter 3.

 

Blustein, pp. 48-70.

 

Stiglitz, ch. 1.

 

Week 5: Internal Financing of Development

 

·         Oct. 25: Seignorage and Taxation

 

Reading: Gerald M. Meier (1995) Leading Issues in Economic Development, 6th ed.    Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 161-179.

 

Robert Gilpin (2001) “The State and Economic Development.”  Global Political Economy: Understanding the International Economic Order.  Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, pp. 305-309.

 

Peter Evans (1992) “The State as Problem and Solution: Predation, Embedded Autonomy and Structural Change,” in S. Haggard and R. Kaufman, The Politics of Economic Adjustment.  Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, pp. 140-181.

 

·         Oct. 27: Human Capital Approaches

 

Reading:  Meier (1995), pp. 269-272.

 

Robert Wade (1992) “East Asia’s Economic Success: Conflicting Perspectives, Partial Insights, Shaky Evidence,” World Politics 44,2 (January): 270-320.

 

Blustein, pp. 171-191.

 

Stiglitz, ch. 2.

 

Week 6: Midterm, External Financing of Development, Part 1

 

·         Nov. 1: MIDTERM EXAM

 

·         Nov. 3: External Financing of Development, Part 1: Foreign Aid

 

Reading: Spero & Hart, Ch. 6.

 

Blustein, pp. 195-215.

 

Stiglitz, ch. 5.

 

Week 7: External Financing of  Development, Part 2

 

·         Nov. 8:  Debt

 

Reading: Charles Lipson (1981) “The International Organization of Debt.”  International Organization 34,4 (Autumn): 603-31.

 

Miles Kahler (1985) “Politics and International Debt: Explaining the Crisis.”  International Organization 39,3 (Summer): 357-382.

 

·         Nov. 10: Foreign Direct Investment

 

Reading: Spero & Hart, chapter 8.

 

Blustein,, pp. 217-240.

 

Stiglitz, ch. 6.

 

Week 8: External Financing of Development: Trade

 

·         Nov. 15: Comparative Advantage

 

Reading: Ray, pp. 627-644

 

·         Nov. 17: History and Politics

 

Reading: Spero & Hart, chapter 7.

 

Blustein, pp. 241-253.

 

Stiglitz, ch. 7.

 

Week 9: Globalization and Inequality

 

·         Nov. 22: Dependency Theory

 

Reading: Peter Evans (1979) Dependent Development.  Chapters 1 & 2.

 

James A. Caparoso (1978) “Dependence, Dependency, and Power in the Global System: A Structural and Behavioral Analysis.”  International Organization 32,1 (Winter): 13-43.

 

Andrés Velasco (2002) “The Dustbin of History? Dependency Theory.” Foreign Policy 133 (November-December):44-45.

 

·         Nov. 24: Globalization I

 

Reading:  Foreign Policy (2003) “Measuring Globalization.”  Foreign Policy 134, January-February: 60-72

 

Foreign Policy and the Center for Global Development (2003) “Ranking the Rich.”  Foreign Policy 136, May-June: 56-66.

 

Nancy Birdsall (2003) “Asymmetric Globalization.”  Brookings Review  21,2 (Spring): 22-27.

 

James Mittleman (2002) “Globalization: An Ascendant Paradigm.”  International Studies Perspectives 3,1 (February): 1-14.

 

Blustein, , pp. 255-283.

 

Stiglitz, ch. 8.

 

 

Week 10: Globalization and Inequality, Wrap-up

 

·         Nov. 29: Globalization II

 

Reading: Jagdish Bhagwati (2002) “Coping with Antiglobalization.”  Foreign Affairs 81,1 (January-February):2-7.

 

Thomas Friedman and I. Ramonet (1999) “Dueling Globalizations.”  Foreign Policy 116 (Fall): 110-27.

 

D. Dollar and A. Kraay (2002) “Spreading the Wealth.”  Foreign Affairs 81,1 (January-February): 120-33.

 

Responders (2002) “Is Inequality Decreasing?”  Foreign Affairs 81,4 (July-August): 178-83.

 

·         Dec. 1:  Review

 

Reading: Blustein, pp. 195-215.

 

Stiglitz, chapter 9.