DWA 103 Introduction to Global Political Economy

This course is an undergraduate survey of the field of Global Political Economy (GPE), required to major in Diplomacy and World Affairs. It is intended as an introduction for students who already have some background in the field of International Relations (DWA 101) and Economics (Economics 101) and are interested in exploring global political economy theories, relations and issues. The course covers major theoretical, empirical and policy perspectives. The first part of the course will cover basic concepts and theoretical foundations of political economy: liberalism, marxism, realism, feminism, etc. The focus will be on core theoretical principles and approaches. The goal is to understand how theory is framed and how it "works"; the potential inferences of theories, and their practical import. The second part of the course delves into globalization as a field of study and set of empirical dynamics, building on the theoretical foundations of the first part of the course. The third part of the course explores emerging topics in global political economy such as global finance, the informal economy, the underground economy, the green economy/sharing economy/circular economy, gender and the global economy, corporate citizenship and responsibility, social enterprises, the sustainable development goals, social/economic rights and more. Open only to DWA majors; for non-majors, special permission of instructor required.