duration

Full time: 1 year
Part time: 2 years

Global Political Economy MA

Course overview

Canary WharfEast Jerusalem - image by Yoav GalaiMoney

Summary

  • This new MA provides a contemporary take on the analysis of global economic relations, the workings of the global financial system, state strategies and processes of regulation.
  • Students will develop an in-depth understanding of how the economic system works and address critical issues in international development and policy-making
  • Students take two core modules – in Global Political Economy, and Global Governance – plus optional modules in global finance, development, migration, civil society and international institutions
  • Students will benefit from City's central London location, and our academic expertise in global political economy, global finance, global governance and development

Course overview

City's new MA in Global Political Economy aims to provide you with analytical skills and conceptual knowledge of key debates around the role of states, societies, financial markets and international organisations in shaping globalisation in the 21st century.

 

The course focuses on contemporary issues and processes in global political economy in the context of the broader changes associated with ‘globalisation,’ change, transformation and global governance. You will consider the conceptual and policy debates around issues such as:

  • economic and financial crises
  • development and inequality
  • poverty
  • disease and security
  • migration and cultural identity
  • regionalisation and globalisation.

What is Global Political Economy?

Global Political Economy is a vibrant and topical field of study. It incorporates insights from economics, political science, international relations, sociology, history and other social sciences into a framework for understanding power and change in the world economy today.

 

Studying at the heart of the City of London, students of Global Political Economy are in a unique position to inquire into the ways politics, economics, societal traditions and cultural norms shape the trends of globalisation, and influence the processes of policy formation and governance at different levels of the world economy.

 

 

Image, top-centre, by Yoav Galai

 

 

Course content

The MA provides an advanced and specialised education in global political economy with a mixture of core courses covering conceptual and historical issues, and more specialised optional modules.

Core modules

Global Political Economy

This module introduces you to key issues guiding the evolution of the world economic order, and the debates around them: capital, power, development, states, markets, and governance.

 

You will trace the evolution of global capitalism from its post-war structure to its contemporary transnational roots. Engaging with contemporary theories of Global Political Economy, the module focuses on the consequences associated with the changing nature of political authority in the age of accelerated economic change.


This module aims to help you understand the nature of the relationship between the political and the economic in the evolution of capitalism. By the end of the module, you should feel confident with the basic themes and history of post-war Global Political Economy, and thus be prepared to delve into more specific areas covered in optional modules

Governing Global Politics

This module critically examines the changing character of governance in global politics. It focuses on the key actors (states, regional organisations, international organisations, private authorities) and key mechanisms (international law, and international regimes) involved in attempts to govern, regulate and control processes and issues in contemporary global politics.

 

You will examine issues such as accountability, legitimacy and "empire" that provide the basis for a critique of contemporary patterns of global governance.

 

The module combines conceptual and historical issues with in-depth case studies of instances of governing in contemporary global politics.

Optional modules

The selection of optional modules will allow you to deepen your specialisation in two main strands of Global Political Economy:

  • Political economy of institutions and governance
  • Political economy of development

 

The two strands are not restrictive, and modules are available all students, yet they allow you to pursue a more specialised path, suitable for careers in the private sector and policy-making, and international development sector, respectively.

 

Students choose three modules from:

  • Political Economy of Global Finance
  • Development in Global Politics
  • Global Civil Society
  • Theories of International Politics
  • The Politics of Forced Migration and Resettlement
  • Global Politics of Health and Disease
  • International Politics of the Middle East
  • The Transformation of International Politics since the Peace of Westphalia
  • Wealth and Poverty in Global Politics
  • International Financial Institutions
  • Globalisation and the City
  • The Information Society
  • Media Information Markets
  • History of Economic Thought
  • Development Economics
  • Key Issues in Financial Journalism: the financial crisis 

 

Please note: course content and module details are subject to final approval and amendment

 

Teaching and assessment

How you will be taught and assessed

Core modules are usually taught by one-hour lecture and one-hour tutorial.

Optional modules are typically taught as a two-hour seminar session.

 

In many modules, you are encouraged to give presentations. Group discussions, ‘brain-storming,’ role play and mini-roundtables on thematic issues are used by staff in addition to conventional teaching techniques.

 

All MA modules are assessed through a written essay of 4,500 words.

 

In addition to coursework, you must complete a final MA dissertation of 15,000 words on a subject of global political economy based on your independent research. The dissertation is worth one-third of the overall MA mark.

Core academic staff

Dr Anastasia Nesvetailova (Reader in IPE)

Dr. Anastasia Nesvetailova is the MA course director. She is a leading expert in the political economy of  finance and financial regulation. Her work evolves at the interface between heterodox political economy (Keynes, Minsky and beyond) and international political economy. Anastasia has published extensively on the problems of financial instability, crisis and governance, as well process of politico-economic transformation in the post-Soviet space. Her most recent monograph, Financial Alchemy in Crisis: The Great Liquidity Illusion (2010, Pluto), analyses the political economy of the global credit crunch and its broader lessons for those who aim to understand  the social and political forces that lie behind financial innovation and globalisation. Her first book, Fragile Finance (2007) analysed the political economy of financial crises in emerging markets in the 1990s.

Dr. Sophie Harman (Senior Lecturer)

Sophie Harman is a leading expert on the political economy of global health. Sophie's principle areas of academic interest are Global Governance, the World Bank, HIV/AIDS, East Africa, and feminist political economy. Her book The World Bank and HIV/AIDS: Setting a Global Agenda was published with Routledge in June 2010 and her co-edited book Governance of HIV/AIDS Response: Making Participation and Accountability Count was published with Routledge in July 2009. Her new book, Global Health Governance, is due to be published in 2011. She is the author of a number of articles and research papers on multilevel governance, leadership, and conditional cash transfers as a means of governing individual behaviour and rationality.

Dr David Williams (Senior Lecturer)

David's research interests are in the international relations of development. In 2008, David published a book on the World Bank and ‘Good Governance’ entitled, The World Bank and Social Transformation in International Politics: Liberalism, Governance and Sovereignty (Routledge 2008). David's research work considers the connections between development and global governance, and between liberal political theory and the practice of state-building and development. His new book, International Relations and Development: Theory and Practice is due to be published in 2011 by Routledge.

Dr Christopher McDowell (Acting Head of Department and Reader)

Christopher is a political anthropologist conducting research on forced population displacement in situations of conflict, as part of the development process and as a result of environmental change. His current work focuses on involuntary resettlement and its socio-economic and political outcomes, and the governance of resettlement. He regularly advises UN agencies, development banks and governments on socio-economic aspects of displacement. Christopher specialises in Sri Lanka, East and Southern Africa. Past publications include Understanding Impoverishment (1996), A Tamil Asylum Diaspora (1996), Risks and Responsibilities (2000) and Catching Fire (2006). He has recently completed a volume on non-conflict displacement (2010).

Dr Tom Davies (Lecturer)

Tom's main research interests are transnational non-governmental politics and the contemporary history of international relations. His DPhil research was awarded the 2006 British International History Group Thesis Prize and his first book, The Possibilities of Transnational Activism, was published in 2007. He is currently working on a variety of projects on the formation, evolution and representativeness of international non-governmental organizations. Prior to joining City, Tom was a Junior Research Fellow at St Antony’s College, Oxford, and a Lecturer at St Catherine's and New Colleges in the University of Oxford. Tom's expertise enhances the by his focus on labour movements, transnational social alliances and anti-globalisation movements.

Dr Amnon Aran (Lecturer)

Amnon joined the Department in September 2009. He was previously a Fellow in International Relations at LSE. His main research interests lie in the international relations of the Middle East, with special reference to the Arab-Israeli conflict and the foreign policy of Middle Eastern states. His work also engages with International Relations theory, particularly Foreign Policy Analysis and Globalization. Amnon has also contributed to policy-making forums through his work with the European Union's Middle East Peace Task Force, ETN Zurich, Oxford Analytica, and he has commentated on Middle Eastern affairs for the BBC, Bloomberg and CCTV. His book Israel's Foreign Policy towards the PLO: The Impact of Globalization was recently published by Sussex Academic Press.

 

Employment

This is a specialised degree enabling graduates who are often non-economists to engage competently and confidently with economic and financial developments and pursue professional careers in the public and the private sectors, including finance and banking, transnational corporations, civil service and international diplomacy, the media and development agencies.

 

In addition, graduates of this MA may continue their education into doctoral programmes.

 

How to apply

Entry requirements

Applicants should have at least an upper second class (or equivalent) in Social Sciences, Humanities, Law, Business Studies and other disciplines. 

 
Relevant work and voluntary experience will be considered.  No formal training in economics is required.


In addition, we require two references from your previous place of study.

 

If  English is not your first language, you will need to provide evidence of a 6.5 IELTS score (with a minimum of 6.0 for each subtest) or 600 TOEFL score (internet score 100).  

Application forms

 

Fees & bursaries

Tuition fees for 2011/12 are:

Full time
  • UK/EU students: £6,950
  • Non-UK/EU students: £11,600
Part time
  • UK/EU students: £3,800
  • Non-UK/EU students: £6,400

 

There are no specific funds for this MA programme. We refer students to general guidelines on funding available at the university website.

 

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