International Economic Relations: What Next for Globalization and Global Governance - Einzelansicht

International economic relations are of enormous importance, yet their analysis often is somewhat limited. In this seminar, we will examine international economic relations with an approach that combines economics and international relations. The key question of international political economy is: Who gets what, when and why? Of course, there is no shortage of topics in this area. In finance, the world has not yet fully recovered from the last crises. But what are the potential solutions that reduce the severity and impact of future financial crises? Does finance have to be tamed further, and how can that be achieved? Are policy makers sufficiently independent from the financial sector, or are they more concerned with “Wall Street” than with “Main Street”? And what can we learn from the changes of the international financial order of the last 150 years? 2016 may turn out to be the beginning of a new era – both for the international division of labor and for global co-operation. The vote for Brexit and the election of Donald Trump were both unexpected and will both have severe consequences. Rod Little from The Spectator has argued that 2016 is 1968 in reverse: the overthrowing of political correctness and a return to the values of flag and family. Of course, May and Trump might soften their position, but it seems unlikely that they will eventually implement policies that are supporting multilateral co-operation. Both are embracing populism, which – according to Francis Fukuyama - is the name that elites give to policies supported by ordinary citizens that they dislike. In finance, two problems persist: The first is that banks continue to be undercapitalized. A prominent member of the US Central Bank has released a paper asking for a dramatic increase of capital requirements for large banks – three times as much as Basle III currently requires. The second is uncertainty about the balkanization of finance. In November 2016, the EU is replicating a measure the USA has implemented since 2014. Both now ask foreign banks to establish full subsidiaries with own capital, which means the previous system is obsolete. Another question of the seminar will be the rise and decline of economies. Of course, China continues to look mighty and invincible, but so did Japan in thirty years ago. Is China better prepared to weather a turbulent transition, or is China the world’s largest Ponzi scheme (The Economist), i.e. a credit-financed speculative bubble? In this context, we will also look at the development of resource prices, which is crucial to economies like Brazil and China.

Bremmer, Ian (2012): Every Nation for itself. Winners and Losers in a G-Zero World. London: Penguin.

Cooper, Andrew. F. (2010): The G20 as an Improvised Crisis Committee and/or Contested ‘Steering Committee’for the World. International Affairs 86 (3), S. 741–757.

Dieter, Heribert (2016): Deutschland in der Weltwirtschaft. Ein Modell mit Zukunft? Bonn: Bundeszentrale für Politische Bildung. 2nd edition.

Reinhardt, Carmen; Rogoff, Kenneth (2009): This Time is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly, Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Rodrik, Dani (2011): The Globalization Paradox. Democracy and the future of the World Economy. London und New York: W.W. Norton.

Winham, Gilbert R. (2005): The evolution of the global trade regime, in: Ravenhill, John (ed.): Global Political Economy. Oxford: Oxford University Press 2005, pp. 87-115.