This book is an introduction to International Relations that uses examples from International Political Economy (IPE). It presents the theories and paradigms of International Relations in the context of the issues of trade, investment, and monetary relations. Largely it does so by developing historical cases of pivotal events in the evolution of the IPE to illustrate the strengths and weaknesses of these theories. This focus on the substantive material of the IPE allows a shift beyond traditional debates to include newer paradigms such as Constructivism and Institutionalism. The result is a book that not only reveals and explains prominent arguments and debates, but also provides grounding in the history and structure of the IPE. The first half of the book explains the main features of the IPE. It develops and illustrates the ways in which political scientists elaborate and employ theories of International Relations by classifying and examining the main levels of analysis from characteristics of the international system, through those of nation states, to explanations of policy effected by officials. The second half examines important historical cases chosen both to illustrate theories and also to chart the overall patterns of change. Readers are thereby introduced to important theories and issues in International Relations and to key historical episodes from the late nineteenth century to the recent East Asian financial crisis. Special attention is paid to critical decisions in the development of American and Canadian foreign policies

From a Western point of view, the policy of economic engagement with China has failed. A rapid rise in living standards in China has helped legitimize and strengthen the Chinese Communist Party's power. How did Western, market-orientated, property-owning, liberal democracies go from being in a position of complete global hegemony in the early 1990s to the current crisis of confidence and loss of moral foundation? This book tells the story of the most successful trading nation of the early twenty-first century. It looks at how the Communist Party of China has retained and cemented its monopoly on political power since China's accession to the World Trade Organization in December 2001. It is the most extraordinary economic success story of our time and it has reshaped the geopolitics not just of Asia but of the world. As China has come to dominate global manufacturing, its economic power has been translated into political power, and the West now has a global rival that is politically antithetical to liberal values. The supply-side deflation from allowing 750 million low-cost workers into the global trading system combined with the policy of inflation targeting by Western central banks has led to falling real incomes for many in the West and rising asset prices that have benefited the few. Worse still, China's mercantilist model is now held up as a viable economic alternative. To have a fighting chance of protecting the freedoms of liberal democracies, it is of the utmost importance that we understand how the policy of indulgent engagement with China has affected Western society in recent years. Only then can the global trading system be reoriented for the mutual benefit of all nations.

"Lectures delivered before a popular audience in the Lowell institute of Boston."--Preface.

A highly readable account of the collision between sovereign states and global economic forces for the control of money. Throughout the ages money was a prerogative of national sovereignty and currency management was the responsibility of governments. Bretton Woods provided the post-war framework for intergovernmental monetary cooperation until the banking community, using the Eurodollar as an international medium of exchange, forced governments to adopt a regime of floating rates in the 1970s. The book describes the development of the Eurodollar market and the consequences for world finance as a new breed of financiers and currency traders radically changed the nature of international banking.

The modern world is built on commodities - from the oil that fuels our cars to the metals that power our smartphones. We rarely stop to consider where they have come from. But we should. In The World for Sale, two leading journalists lift the lid on one of the least scrutinised corners of the world economy: the workings of the billionaire commodity traders who buy, hoard and sell the earth's resources. It is the story of how a handful of swashbuckling businessmen became indispensable cogs in global markets: enabling an enormous expansion in international trade, and connecting resource-rich countries - no matter how corrupt or war-torn - with the world's financial centres. And it is the story of how some traders acquired untold political power, right under the noses of western regulators and politicians - helping Saddam Hussein to sell his oil, fuelling the Libyan rebel army during the Arab Spring, and funnelling cash to Vladimir Putin's Kremlin in spite of western sanctions. The result is an eye-opening tour through the wildest frontiers of the global economy, as well as a revelatory guide to how capitalism really works.