INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY

Spring 1993

Prof. Mehrzad Boroujerdi

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course examines the political-economic dimensions of (under)development in the "Third World." After a brief introduction to the working vocabulary of international political economy, we will proceed to a critical examination of the prevalent "descriptions," "explanations," and "prescriptions" offered by scholars and policy-makers. Drawing on case studies from Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America, the course addresses the multi-faceted question of why Third World economies and social formations follow different historical trajectories than those of Western states. Toward that end, the course explored such issues as socio-cultural parameters and obstacles to development, dependency, imperialism, foreign investment and aid, poverty, industrialization, debt, distributive strategies, rules of the international monetary system, political change and the nature and degree of state intervention in the economy. We shall also focus on Third World nations' efforts at state-building, national integration, and political participation.

In this course you will be exposed to a wide range of "alien worldviews" some of which may force you to question, rethink (and if needed, abandon) your present "understanding" of these problems. Who knows, by the end of the course you might feel that you have taken part in a serendipitous voyage of discovery. Think of it this way, you (may) owe this to your education!

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

1. Attendance: In lieu of the fact that lectures will consist of materials not covered in the assigned readings (and for which you will be held responsible on tests) it is expected that students attend all class meetings. Indeed, attendance will be checked regularly and an attendance "grade" will be calculated as the percentage of the class sessions that you attend. Attendance is mandatory for all exams, and make-ups will be given only for bona fide emergencies (severe illness documented by a physician). Students who may need special consideration because of any sort of disability should make an appointment to see the instructor during office hours.

2. Participation: In addition to being physically present, I expect you to be mentally present as well. As such, you should read and think about the reading assignments before you come to class. If it becomes apparent that large portions of the class are not keeping up with the readings, I reserve the right to administer pop tests over the text material, with the grading scheme being adjusted accordingly.

3. Grades: Your grade in the course will be determined by a midterm (given in class on March 22), a final (given in class on May 4), and a paper. The exams will be a combination of identifications and essays. You will be graded on your ability to present informed as well as coherent and well-written answers. Together the two tests will determine 70% of your final grade. Your grade on the paper will determine the other 25% of your grade. Attendance and class participation determines the remaining 5%. The final grade will also take into account improvement during the term.

The paper is intended as an opinion paper, not as a major research paper. The objective of this exercise is to provide students the opportunity to succinctly articulate their thoughts and muster support for their arguments. The paper should be between 5 to 7 pages, typed, and double-spaced. Needless to say, you should base your analysis on some background reading in scholarly journals, and your paper should clearly indicate that you have done the assigned readings. However, keep in mind that I am not impressed by a constellation of footnotes or by a necklace of virtuous quotations revealing nothing of your own thought. In short, your ideas count! Thus, pay attention to contemplation and use your ingenuity. Believe me it won't hurt! In case you decide to consult some thought provoking journals during the semester, here is a partial list:

World Development                                                             World Politics

The choice of subject for the paper should be first cleared by the instructor. The paper is due on April 12. Late papers will be substantially penalized. Further instructions on how to write the paper will be provided in class.

REFERENCE MATERIALS AT BIRD LIBRARY

In addition to the journals mentioned above, there are a variety of other materials at Bird Library that you can consult. Please make use of encyclopedias, atlases, maps, newspapers, videos and CD-ROMs in the Library. If you have any questions about how to locate and/or use these materials please consult with one of the reference librarians.

CAVEAT

Despite its somewhat humorous subject headings, this is a very serious course. Aside from being rigorous, the reading assignments are also very challenging. In addition, students are asked to participate actively in classroom discussion.

Please take note of the fact that this syllabus represents anticipated scheduling of lectures/readings/assignments; changes may be made to suit the actual composition and competencies of the class.

REQUIRED TEXTS

(1) Course Reader - collection of required course readings which you should purchase from Campus Copy Center in the Marshall Square Mall. The reader number is 384.

(2) Books - in addition, three books are required for the course, which you should purchase at the Orange Student Bookstore (also in the Marshall Square Mall):

Amin, Samir. Eurocentrism (New York: Monthly Review Press, 1989).

Fanon, Frantz. The Wretched of the Earth (New York: Grover Press, 1991).

Lairson, Thomas and David Skidmore, International Political Economy: The Struggle for Power and Wealth (Forth Worth: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1993).

P.S. You should be aware that single copies of all the assigned readings have also been placed on reserve in the library (second floor).

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All Adam's sons are limbs of one another

Each of the selfsame substance as his brother:

So, while one member suffers ache and grief,

The others cannot win relief.

Thou, who are heedless of thy brother's pain,

It is not right at all to name thee Man.

                                                            --   Sadi (a Persian Poet)

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READING ASSIGNMENTS

Jan 13: WHAT IN THE HELL IS INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY?

        Lairson and Skidmore - Chapter 1

        Amin - Preface

Jan 18: NO CLASS (Martin Luther King Day)

Jan 19: IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE (S)WORD: IPE TERMINOLOGY

        Lairson and Skidmore - Chapter 2

        Amin - Introduction

        *Hösle, Vittorio. "The Third World As a Philosophical Problem," Social Research 59 (Summer 1992), pp. 227-262.

Jan. 20, 25: PARDON US, WOULD YOU PLEASE "CIVILIZE" US?

        Amin - pp. 15-88.

        *Ali Mazrui. "Africa: The Political Culture of Nationhood and the Political Economy of the State," Millennium: Journal              of International Studies, vol. 12, no. 3 (Autumn 1983), pp. 201- 210.

Jan 27, Feb 1: SHAKERS AND TAKERS (OR THE GOOD OLD IMPERIALISTS)

            Lairson and Skidmore - Chapter 3

            Amin - pp. 89-117.

            *Harry Magdoff, "Imperialism: A Historical Survey." In Hamza Alavi and Teodor Shanin, eds. Sociology of                      Developing Societies (New York: Monthly Review Press, 1982), pp. 11-28.

            *Johan Galtung. "A Structural Theory of Imperialism," Journal of Peace Research, vol. 8, no. 2 (1971), pp. 81-117.

Feb 3, 8, 10: (S)HE IS LOOKING (ANGRILY) AT YOU KID

            Fanon - Entire book.

Feb 15: CRY UNCLE (SAM): THE EMERGENCE OF AMERICAN HEGEMONY

            Lairson and Skidmore - Chapter 4.

            *Gabriel Garcia Marquez, "The Death of Salvador Allende." In Hamza Alavi and Teodor Shanin, eds. Sociology of              "Developing Societies", pp. 350-360.

Feb 17, 22: THE RICH BOYS CLUB (NO TRESPASSING)

            Lairson and Skidmore - Chapters 5, 6

* Robert Gilpin. "Where Does Japan Fit in?" Millennium: Journal of International Affairs, vol. 18, no. 3 (Winter 1989), pp. 329-342.

Feb 24: OUR (FORMER) RED COUSINS: THE ECONOMICS OF EASTERN EUROPE

            Lairson and Skidmore - Chapter 7

            Amin - pp. 118-123.

            *Patrick Clawson, "The Character of Soviet Economic Relations with Third World Countries," The Review of Radica                 Political Economics, vol. 13, no. 1 (Spring 1981), pp. 76- 84.

Mar 1, 3: THE (THEORETICAL) RIGHT STUFF AND OTHER MUMBO JUMBOS

            Lairson and Skidmore - Chapter 8.

            *Andre Gunder Frank, "The Development of Underdevelopment." In Charles K. Wilber, ed. The Political Economy              of Development and Underdevelopment (New York: Random House, 1979), pp. 103-112.

            *Tony Smith. "The Underdevelopment of Development Literature: The Case of Dependency Theory," World Politics,              vol. 31, no. 2 (January 1979), pp. 247-288.

March 8, 10: NO CLASSES (Spring vacation)

Mar 15, 17: SMELL THE ROSES DEAR, THIS WORLD IS POLITICAL

            *Colin Leys, "Samuel Huntington and the End of Classical Modernization Theory." In Hamza Alavi and Teodor Shanin                  (eds.), Sociology of "Developing Societies," pp. 332-349.

            *Atilio Boron. "Latin America: Between Hobbes and Friedman," New Left Review 130 (November/December 1981),              pp. 45-66.

            *Arturo Escobar. "Reflections on `Development': Grassroots Approaches and Alternative Politics in the Third World,"                  Futures: The Journal of Forecasting, Planning and Policy, vol. 24, no. 5 (June 1992), pp. 411-436.

March 22: MID TERM EXAM

Mar 24, 29: FOR (THROUGH) YOUR EYES ONLY: THE NORTH'S VIEW

            *Paul Hollander, "Why Don't They Like Us?" The New York Times (July 3, 1992), p. A15.

            *Garrett Hardin. "Living in a Lifeboat," Bioscience 24 (1974), pp. 561-568.

            *Stephen D. Krasner. Structural Conflict: The Third World Against Global Liberalism (Berkeley: University of                 California Press, 1985), pp. 3-31.

            *Benjamin R. Barber. "Jihad vs. McWorld," Annual Editions: World Politics 92/93 (Guilford, CT: The Dushkin                  Publishing Group, 1992), pp. 212-217.

            *Jürgen Link, "Fanatics, Fundamentalists, Lunatics, and Drug Traffickers--The New Southern Enemy Image,"                 Cultural Critique 19 (Fall 1991), pp. 33-53.

Mar 31, Apr 5: ELEGY FOR THE LOSER: THE VIEW FROM THE SOUTH

            Lairson and Skidmore - Chapter 9.

            Amin - pp. 124-135.

            *Ivan Illich, "Outwitting the `Developed' Countries." In Charles K. Wilber, ed. The Political Economy of                     Development and Underdevelopment, pp. 436-444.

            *Walden Bello. "Confronting the Brave New World Economic Order: Toward a Southern Agenda for the 1990s,"                Alternatives, vol. 14, no. 2 (April 1989), pp. 135-167.

Apr 7: NO CLASS (Redefined to Friday)

Apr 12: OUT OF THE GOODNESS OF MY HEART: THE AID EPIDEMIC

            Lairson and Skidmore - Chapter 10.

Apr 12: Due Date For Opinion Paper

Apr 14: DANCING WITH THE WOLVES? MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONS

            Lairson and Skidmore - Chapter 11.

            *Ronald Müller, "The Multinational Corporation and the Underdevelopment of the Third World." In Charles K.                  Wilber, ed. The Political Economy of Development and Underdevelopment, pp. 151-178.

Apr 19, 21: BORROW NOW, PAY WHEN YOU CAN (NOT): THE DEBT PROBLEM

            Lairson and Skidmore - Chapter 12.

            *Howard Wiarda. "The Politics of Third World Debt," PS: Political Science & Politics, vol. 23, no. 3 (September                  1990), pp. 411-418.

            *Robert Wesson, "Wrapping Up the Debt Problem," PS: Political Science & Politics vol. 23, no. 3 (September                  1990), pp. 419-424.

Apr 26: GODS MUST BE CRAZY: HUMAN SUFFERING IN THE THIRD WORLD

            *Keith Griffin and Azizur Rahman Khan, "Poverty in the Third World: Ugly Facts and Fancy Models." In Hamza Alavi                  and Teodor Shanin, eds. Sociology of "Developing Societies", pp. 236-251.

            *Irma Adelman. "Growth, Income Distribution and Equity-oriented Development Strategies," World Development,                  vol. 3, nos. 2 & 3 (February-March 1975), pp. 67-76.

            *James H. Weaver, et. al. "A Critical Analysis of Approaches to Growth and Equity." In Charles K. Wilber, ed. The              Political Economy of Development and Underdevelopment, pp. 412-422.

Apr 28: BROTHER, YOU DON'T HAVE A PRAYER (OR DO YOU?)

            Lairson and Skidmore - Chapter 13.

            Amin - pp. 136-152.

May 4: Final Exam