Dr J Chwieroth, CLM 5.11 and Dr A Walter (on leave MT), CLM. 5.05

Course intended primarily for MSc International Political Economy. It is an optional course for LSE-PKU Double Degree in MSc International Affairs, MSc Political Science and Political Economy, MPA Public and Economic Policy/MPA Public Policy and Management/MPA International Development/MPA European Public and Economic Policy/MPA Public and Social Policy, MSc Management. Also available to students taking MSc International Political Economy as part of the LSE-Sciences Po Double Degree in Affaires Internationales programme. Open to other interested students where degree regulations permit.

All students are required to obtain permission from the Teacher Responsible by completing the Student Statement box on the online application form linked to course selection on LSE for You. Admission is not guaranteed.

This course is designed as a component of the study of a global system in which the management and mismanagement of money and finance are matters of fundamental consequence, for both international relations and domestic politics. It is intended to be of particular relevance to students specialising in international political economy.

This is a course in applied political economic theory. It deals with the basic concepts regarding the creation, use and management of money and finance in the global system. Students are then introduced to international monetary relations over the past one and a half centuries. Issues covered include the use of national currencies as international money, the politics of exchange rate adjustment, the operations of banks and other institutions in international money and capital markets, the evolution of global financial markets, the relationship between states and markets in the arena of global finance, international monetary cooperation, and the choices of monetary and financial policies open to developed and developing countries. The course emphasises that contemporary issues, such as financial crises, financial regulation and the politics of IMF conditionality, are best understood in a broader theoretical and historical context.

One lecture course (IR451.1) and one seminar course (IR451.2). Lectures begin in the first week of MT and continue in the LT with an examination preparation and expectations lecture in week 2 of ST. Seminars begin in the third week of the MT and continue in the LT, with a revision session in the ST. Students are expected to make presentations on topics of their choice and to write three 2,000-word essays, to be marked by the seminar teacher. In the MT a series of ten additional lectures are given as part of IR451.1, Introducing Concepts in Monetary Theory and International Monetary Economics. Students intending to take the course are expected to attend these lectures unless they already have a strong background in monetary economics.

No one book covers the entire syllabus, but the following general works provide a useful introduction: B Eichengreen, Globalizing Capital (2008); A Walter and G Sen, Analyzing the Global Political Economy (2009); A Walter, World Power and World Money (1993); R Gilpin, The Political Economy of International Relations (1987), Chapters 4 & 8; S Strange, Mad Money (1998); J Frieden & D Lake, International Political Economy: Perspective on Global Power and Wealth, section IIIC; C Randall Henning, Currencies and Politics (1994); T. Porter, Globalization and Finance (2005); D Andrews (ed), International Monetary Power (2006).

A detailed list of recommended reading is provided at the beginning of the course.

There is a three-hour formal examination in the ST based on the lecture course and work covered in the seminars. The paper contains about 12 questions, of which three are to be answered.