IR453 Half Unit
Global Business in International Relations
This information is for the 2025/26 session.
Course Convenor
Prof Robert Falkner
Availability
This course is available on the MSc in International Political Economy, MSc in International Political Economy (LSE and Sciences Po) and MSc in International Political Economy (Research). This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit. This course uses controlled access as part of the course selection process.
How to apply: All students must include a brief written statement of no more than 200 words explaining why they wish to take the course and how it will benefit their academic/career goals.
Applicants who are not offered places will either be 'wait listed' or 'rejected'. Priority is given to students on Department of International Relations programmes and programmes jointly taught by the Department of International Relations
Places on capped courses cannot be guaranteed.
Deadline for application: The deadline for applications is 12:00 noon on Friday 26 September 2025.
You can expect to be informed of the outcome of your application by 12:00 noon on Monday 29 September 2025.
For queries contact: For questions about the academic content of a Department of International Relations course, students should contact the teacher responsible as listed in the hyperlinked course guide.
For questions about your programme regulations, please contact your programme convenor/director or your Academic Mentor.
For questions about the process of applying to a Department of International Relations course, if not already clear from the information provided, please contact ir.msc@lse.ac.uk.
Students are advised to check the MSc Course Availability Spreadsheet.xlsx for information on the remaining availability of EU4, DV4, GV4, IR4, PP4 and SO4 courses after 12:00 noon Monday 29 September.
All students are required to obtain permission from the Teacher Responsible by completing the online application form linked to course selection on LSE for You. Admission is not guaranteed.
This course has a limited number of places (it is controlled access) and demand is typically high.
Course content
This course examines the role of global business as an actor in international relations. It reviews the political and economic theories that explain the rise of global business and foreign direct investment, paying attention in particular to International Relations and International Political Economy approaches, but also covering the main economic explanations of MNCs. The course examines the interaction between global business and states in international relations, especially state-firm bargaining over investment decisions and the regulation of global business by states and international organizations. The course also considers the role that global business plays in selected global policy areas: climate change and the environment, economic development, and human rights.
Teaching
15 hours of seminars and 10 hours of lectures in the Winter Term.
This course has a reading week in Week 6 of Winter Term.
10 lectures and 10 seminars on the following topics:
- Introduction: global business in international relations
- Globalisation and the rise of MNCs
- Economic theories of the global firm
- The political economy of MNC-state relations
- International investment rules
- International taxation and global business
- The tech giants and how to govern them
- Global business and climate change
- MNCs, FDI and economic development
- MNCs and the global governance of human rights
Formative assessment
Essay (1500 words)
The formative essay provides students with an opportunity to engage critically with key readings on course topics, and to receive constructive feedback to support their preparation for the summative e-Exam.
Indicative reading
- Bonnitcha, J., Poulsen, L. N. S., & Waibel, M. (2017). The political economy of the investment treaty regime: Oxford University Press.
- Cohen, Stephen D. (2007). Multinational corporations and foreign direct investment: avoiding simplicity, embracing complexity. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Dashwood, H. S. (2012). The Rise of Global Corporate Social Responsibility: Mining and the Spread of Global Norms. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
- Dunning, John H, & Lundan, Sarianna M. (2008). Multinational enterprises and the global economy: Edward Elgar Publishing.
- Falkner, R. (2008). Business Power and Conflict in International Environmental Politics. Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan.
- Jensen, Nathan M. (2008). Nation-states and the multinational corporation: A political economy of foreign direct investment. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
- Knudsen, J.S. and J. Moon (2017). Visible Hands. Government Regulation and International Business Responsibility. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
- Mikler, J., Ed. (2013). The Handbook of Global Companies. Wiley-Blackwell.
- Mikler, J. (2018). The political power of global corporations. Cambridge: Polity.
- Rugman, A. M. (2014). Multinationals and development: Yale University Press.
- Sundaram, Anant K, & Hansen, Robert G (Eds.). (2023). Handbook of Business and Climate Change: Edward Elgar Publishing.
Assessment
Exam (100%), duration: 120 Minutes in the Spring exam period
Key facts
Department: International Relations
Course Study Period: Winter Term
Unit value: Half unit
FHEQ Level: Level 7
CEFR Level: Null
Total students 2024/25: 60
Average class size 2024/25: 15
Controlled access 2024/25: NoCourse selection videos
Some departments have produced short videos to introduce their courses. Please refer to the course selection videos index page for further information.
Personal development skills
- Self-management
- Team working
- Problem solving
- Application of information skills
- Communication
- Specialist skills