Chapter 10 Review questions

  1. Four major issues of IPE are introduced in the chapter. Can you think of other 'new issues' that are relevant for IPE?
  2. Discuss the distribution of power resources of major countries in Table 10.1. Should there be other countries on the list? Are some of the listed resources irrelevant?
  3. What is most important for global development patterns: the political power of states or the economic market power of large corporations?
  4. What are the key claims of hegemonic stability theory? To what extent have these claims been borne out empirically since World War Two?
  5. Is military power of special importance for leading states or are other power resources equally important?
  6. Were all societies once 'traditional', as liberals claim? Or have states in the Global South been actively underdeveloped by imperialism originating in the developed world as neo-Marxists say?
  7. Look at Table 10.3. Has sub-Saharan Africa experienced development or underdevelopment?
  8. Is there a 'global economic system' or is economic globalization merely 'more of the same'? Are transnationals truly global or tied to their home countries?
  9. Will economic globalization bring benefits to all? Why or why not?
  10. Think of the pros and cons of micro-theories such as rational choice theory and macro-theories such as the major perspectives on IPE. How can they be combined?
  11. Is IPE really of growing importance for the study of IR? Why or why not?
  12. What are the basic differences between the British and the American schools of IPE (see Table 10.7)? Which do you find most fruitful for understanding international relations?
  13. What are the three key elements of the ‘Open Economy Politics’ (OEP) framework?
  14. Should scholars of IR still pose big questions? Why or why not?
  15. How do different theories of IPE attempt to integrate international and domestic factors into their explanatory frameworks? Give examples.
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