IR469 Half Unit
Politics of Money in the World Economy
This information is for the 2025/26 session.
Course Convenor
Prof Jeffrey Chwieroth
Availability
This course is available on the MSc in International Affairs (LSE and Peking University), MSc in International Political Economy, MSc in International Political Economy (LSE and Sciences Po), MSc in International Political Economy (Research) and MSc in Political Science (Political Science and Political Economy). 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.
All International Relations (IR4) optional courses at LSE are Controlled Access and require an application via LfY. Students must include a statement in their LfY application of no more than 200 words explaining their interest in the course and its relevance to their academic and career goals.
Application deadline: 12:00 noon, Friday 26 September 2025.
Notification of outcome: by 12:00 noon, Monday 29 September 2025.
After this date, students should consult the MSc Course Availability Spreadsheet for remaining spaces on IR4-level courses.
For further details, see the LSE Selecting Courses webpage in the first instance or contact IR.Programmes@lse.ac.uk only if necessary.
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 has a limited number of places (it is controlled access) and demand is typically high.
Requisites
Additional requisites:
Students intending to take the course should have a strong background in monetary economics.
Course content
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 international relations. It is intended to be of particular relevance to students specialising in international political economy. This is a course in applied international political economy 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 the political foundations of international monetary governance. 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 international financial crises, international financial regulation and the politics of IMF conditionality, are best understood in a broader theoretical and analytical context.
Teaching
15 hours of lectures and 13.5 hours of seminars in the Autumn Term.
This course has a reading week in Week 6 of Autumn Term.
Formative assessment
Students will sit a mock e-Exam in the AT. The mock e-Exam provides students with an opportunity to write a paper in class under simulated exam conditions and receive feedback to support their preparation for the summative e-Exam.
Indicative reading
No one book covers the entire syllabus, but the following general works provide a useful introduction:
- B Eichengreen, Globalizing Capital (2019);
- T Porter, Globalization and Finance (2005);
- D Andrews (ed), International Monetary Power 2006);
- J Frieden, Currency politics: the political economy of exchange rate policy (2015);
- E Helleiner, The status quo crisis: global financial governance after the 2008 meltdown (2014);
- C. Norloff, America's global advantage: US hegemony and international cooperation (2010);
- B Cohen, Currency power: understanding monetary rivalry (2015);
- J Chwieroth and A Walter, The Wealth Effect (2019)
Assessment
Exam (90%), duration: 120 Minutes in the January exam period
Course participation (10%)
e-Exam of 2 hours (90%) in the January exam period. The exam will take place in the form of an e-Exam.
Class participation (10%) in the AT. Class participation consists of four in-class components: class presentations/debates, a meme exercise, an AI exercise, and questions and answers.
Key facts
Department: International Relations
Course Study Period: Autumn Term
Unit value: Half unit
FHEQ Level: Level 7
CEFR Level: Null
Total students 2024/25: 61
Average class size 2024/25: 15
Controlled access 2024/25: YesCourse 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
- Leadership
- Self-management
- Team working
- Problem solving
- Communication