Lecture 1.
Balaam & Dillman (2018), Chapter 1
The first chapter introduces the field of global political economy
- as the study of how politics and economics interact at the global level.
- It examines how states, markets, and societies influence one another in shaping
wealth, power, and development worldwide.
1. Defining Global Political Economy
● GPE is concerned with understanding the reciprocal relationship between politics and
economics.
● It explores how political decisions affect economic outcomes (e.g., trade policies,
taxation, sanctions) and how economic forces shape political behavior (e.g.,
globalization, capital flows).
● The field is inherently interdisciplinary, combining insights from economics, political
science, sociology, and history.
2. Historical Context
● The modern GPE emerged in the 1970s, after the collapse of the Bretton Woods
system, oil shocks, and growing interdependence made purely economic or political
explanations insufficient.
● Earlier traditions (mercantilism, liberalism, Marxism) already linked wealth and power,
but contemporary GPE revived these debates in a globalized setting.
3. Main Theoretical Approaches
● Mercantilism is an economic theory and policy approach, dominant in Europe from
the 16th to 18th centuries, that holds that a nation’s wealth and power depend on
accumulating precious metals (especially gold and silver) and maintaining a positive
balance of trade.
● Under mercantilism, governments sought to maximize exports and minimize imports
through protectionist measures like tariffs, monopolies, and colonial expansion. The
central idea is that the global amount of wealth is finite — so one nation’s gain is
another’s loss — making economic competition a zero-sum game.
● Liberalism: Emphasizes markets, free trade, and cooperation; believes economic
interdependence promotes peace.
Marxism (critical perspective): Focuses on class conflict, exploitation, and global inequality
within capitalism.
These paradigms remain central to understanding competing policy approaches and
worldviews.
4. Core Themes in GPE
● Globalization: The increasing integration of markets, production, and finance
worldwide.
, ● Power and institutions: How international organizations (IMF, WTO, World Bank) and
states set rules that shape global outcomes.
● Wealth and inequality: Who gains and who loses from global economic processes.
● Security and sustainability: The links between economic systems, resource use, and
global stability.
5. Why Study GPE
● GPE helps explain real-world issues like trade wars, financial crises, climate change,
and inequality.
● It offers tools to understand how individuals, corporations, states, and international
institutions interact and make decisions in an interdependent world.
Lecture 2
Balaam & Dillman (2018) Chapter 2: “Wealth and Power: Mercantilism and Economic
Nationalism”
This chapter explores mercantilism and its modern form, economic nationalism, as key
perspectives in international political economy.
- It argues that states pursue economic policies to strengthen national power and
security, not just to increase wealth.
Key points:
● Core idea: Economic activity serves political goals — wealth is a means to achieve
power.
● Policies: Protectionism, export promotion, trade surpluses, and state intervention are
favored.
● Modern relevance: Contemporary versions appear in state-led industrial strategies,
trade wars, and resource control.
● Contrast: Unlike liberalism (which values free markets) or Marxism (which critiques
capitalism), mercantilism prioritizes the state’s interests and strategic competition
between nations.
, The Guardian article titled “Has Covid ended the neoliberal era?”
- argues that the global shock of the COVID‑19 pandemic exposed the deep
vulnerabilities of the neoliberal economic order — that is, the regime of light-touch
regulation, globalised markets, privatisation, and minimalist state intervention.
Key points:
● The pandemic triggered a massive state intervention in economies through
lockdowns, fiscal stimulus and monetary support — responses more characteristic of
wartime or Keynesian/ state-led models than of neoliberal orthodoxy.
● It laid bare the dependence of the market-driven system on the state (for health,
social welfare, crisis management) and exposed how inequality, weak safety nets
and globalised supply-chains can become systemic risks.
● The article suggests that the crisis may mark the end of neoliberalism as coherent
ideology, or at least a turning point: the assumption that markets alone can
self-regulate has been challenged.
● However, the article also warns that while the model has been shaken, the power
structures underlying capitalism (wealth concentration, state support of finance)
remain intact — so any transition is uncertain.
That shift resonates strongly with the mercantilist/economic-nationalist logic of Chapter 2 in
Balaam & Dillman: the idea that economic policy is ultimately about power, security, and
national interest.
Lecture 3
Economic Nationalism - Centrale gedachte
● Economie staat in dienst van de staat
● Doel: nationale macht, veiligheid en autonomie
● Focus op relatieve winsten i.p.v. absolute welvaart
● Economische afhankelijkheid = politieke kwetsbaarheid
Historische oorsprong (mercantilisme)
● Ontstaan in 16e–18e eeuw Europa
● Rijkdom gemeten in goud en zilver
● Nadruk op handelsoverschotten
● Export stimuleren, import beperken
● Nauwe samenwerking tussen staat en handelaren
Moderne vormen van economisch nationalisme
Volgens Balaam en Dillman is economisch nationalisme niet verdwenen, maar aangepast
aan de moderne wereldeconomie. Hedendaagse vormen zijn onder meer strategisch
protectionisme, subsidies, industriële politiek en staatsbedrijven. Markten worden niet
afgewezen, maar alleen geaccepteerd zolang zij nationale belangen dienen.
● Gebruik van tarieven en handelsbeperkingen
Balaam & Dillman (2018), Chapter 1
The first chapter introduces the field of global political economy
- as the study of how politics and economics interact at the global level.
- It examines how states, markets, and societies influence one another in shaping
wealth, power, and development worldwide.
1. Defining Global Political Economy
● GPE is concerned with understanding the reciprocal relationship between politics and
economics.
● It explores how political decisions affect economic outcomes (e.g., trade policies,
taxation, sanctions) and how economic forces shape political behavior (e.g.,
globalization, capital flows).
● The field is inherently interdisciplinary, combining insights from economics, political
science, sociology, and history.
2. Historical Context
● The modern GPE emerged in the 1970s, after the collapse of the Bretton Woods
system, oil shocks, and growing interdependence made purely economic or political
explanations insufficient.
● Earlier traditions (mercantilism, liberalism, Marxism) already linked wealth and power,
but contemporary GPE revived these debates in a globalized setting.
3. Main Theoretical Approaches
● Mercantilism is an economic theory and policy approach, dominant in Europe from
the 16th to 18th centuries, that holds that a nation’s wealth and power depend on
accumulating precious metals (especially gold and silver) and maintaining a positive
balance of trade.
● Under mercantilism, governments sought to maximize exports and minimize imports
through protectionist measures like tariffs, monopolies, and colonial expansion. The
central idea is that the global amount of wealth is finite — so one nation’s gain is
another’s loss — making economic competition a zero-sum game.
● Liberalism: Emphasizes markets, free trade, and cooperation; believes economic
interdependence promotes peace.
Marxism (critical perspective): Focuses on class conflict, exploitation, and global inequality
within capitalism.
These paradigms remain central to understanding competing policy approaches and
worldviews.
4. Core Themes in GPE
● Globalization: The increasing integration of markets, production, and finance
worldwide.
, ● Power and institutions: How international organizations (IMF, WTO, World Bank) and
states set rules that shape global outcomes.
● Wealth and inequality: Who gains and who loses from global economic processes.
● Security and sustainability: The links between economic systems, resource use, and
global stability.
5. Why Study GPE
● GPE helps explain real-world issues like trade wars, financial crises, climate change,
and inequality.
● It offers tools to understand how individuals, corporations, states, and international
institutions interact and make decisions in an interdependent world.
Lecture 2
Balaam & Dillman (2018) Chapter 2: “Wealth and Power: Mercantilism and Economic
Nationalism”
This chapter explores mercantilism and its modern form, economic nationalism, as key
perspectives in international political economy.
- It argues that states pursue economic policies to strengthen national power and
security, not just to increase wealth.
Key points:
● Core idea: Economic activity serves political goals — wealth is a means to achieve
power.
● Policies: Protectionism, export promotion, trade surpluses, and state intervention are
favored.
● Modern relevance: Contemporary versions appear in state-led industrial strategies,
trade wars, and resource control.
● Contrast: Unlike liberalism (which values free markets) or Marxism (which critiques
capitalism), mercantilism prioritizes the state’s interests and strategic competition
between nations.
, The Guardian article titled “Has Covid ended the neoliberal era?”
- argues that the global shock of the COVID‑19 pandemic exposed the deep
vulnerabilities of the neoliberal economic order — that is, the regime of light-touch
regulation, globalised markets, privatisation, and minimalist state intervention.
Key points:
● The pandemic triggered a massive state intervention in economies through
lockdowns, fiscal stimulus and monetary support — responses more characteristic of
wartime or Keynesian/ state-led models than of neoliberal orthodoxy.
● It laid bare the dependence of the market-driven system on the state (for health,
social welfare, crisis management) and exposed how inequality, weak safety nets
and globalised supply-chains can become systemic risks.
● The article suggests that the crisis may mark the end of neoliberalism as coherent
ideology, or at least a turning point: the assumption that markets alone can
self-regulate has been challenged.
● However, the article also warns that while the model has been shaken, the power
structures underlying capitalism (wealth concentration, state support of finance)
remain intact — so any transition is uncertain.
That shift resonates strongly with the mercantilist/economic-nationalist logic of Chapter 2 in
Balaam & Dillman: the idea that economic policy is ultimately about power, security, and
national interest.
Lecture 3
Economic Nationalism - Centrale gedachte
● Economie staat in dienst van de staat
● Doel: nationale macht, veiligheid en autonomie
● Focus op relatieve winsten i.p.v. absolute welvaart
● Economische afhankelijkheid = politieke kwetsbaarheid
Historische oorsprong (mercantilisme)
● Ontstaan in 16e–18e eeuw Europa
● Rijkdom gemeten in goud en zilver
● Nadruk op handelsoverschotten
● Export stimuleren, import beperken
● Nauwe samenwerking tussen staat en handelaren
Moderne vormen van economisch nationalisme
Volgens Balaam en Dillman is economisch nationalisme niet verdwenen, maar aangepast
aan de moderne wereldeconomie. Hedendaagse vormen zijn onder meer strategisch
protectionisme, subsidies, industriële politiek en staatsbedrijven. Markten worden niet
afgewezen, maar alleen geaccepteerd zolang zij nationale belangen dienen.
● Gebruik van tarieven en handelsbeperkingen
