Globalization and the International Political Economy
Realism, Liberalism, Marxism
and the Phenomenon of Global Integration
Introduction
Various theories and perspectives have been proposed by theorists and international relations observers in explaining International Political Economy (IPE). The most salient among these perspectives are Realism, Liberalism, and Marxism. These paradigms or ways of looking at IPE enables international relations students to study the forces at work in the international realm and analyze how these factors interact to create the state of affairs of the IPE. Through these perspectives, people can also take a look at how human nature, individuals, society, states, and markets relate to the economy and how they make it work.
This paper presents an overview of three significant theories in international relations—Realism, Liberalism and Marxism and how they view the phenomenon of global integration. While Realism is the oldest of the three theories and Marxism is the youngest, Liberalism is the most influential today. Global integration is a phenomenon in international relations that has come to the fore in recent decades. As such, the three lenses of Marxism, Realism, and Liberalism diverge upon different factors and elements affecting global integration. These three theories therefore give varying thoughts and principles on the areas of development, trade unions, international organizations, multinational corporations, international crime, and the sovereignty of states versus the globalized economic process.
In order to better understand how these conceptions of international political economy can explain global integration, it would be necessary to understand each paradigm and how one is different from the rest. Through this understanding, a student can get a good grasp of what each theory is all about, what are its explanatory strengths and weaknesses, how useful is the theory in explaining phenomena in international political economy and what kinds of
and the Phenomenon of Global Integration
Introduction
Various theories and perspectives have been proposed by theorists and international relations observers in explaining International Political Economy (IPE). The most salient among these perspectives are Realism, Liberalism, and Marxism. These paradigms or ways of looking at IPE enables international relations students to study the forces at work in the international realm and analyze how these factors interact to create the state of affairs of the IPE. Through these perspectives, people can also take a look at how human nature, individuals, society, states, and markets relate to the economy and how they make it work.
This paper presents an overview of three significant theories in international relations—Realism, Liberalism and Marxism and how they view the phenomenon of global integration. While Realism is the oldest of the three theories and Marxism is the youngest, Liberalism is the most influential today. Global integration is a phenomenon in international relations that has come to the fore in recent decades. As such, the three lenses of Marxism, Realism, and Liberalism diverge upon different factors and elements affecting global integration. These three theories therefore give varying thoughts and principles on the areas of development, trade unions, international organizations, multinational corporations, international crime, and the sovereignty of states versus the globalized economic process.
In order to better understand how these conceptions of international political economy can explain global integration, it would be necessary to understand each paradigm and how one is different from the rest. Through this understanding, a student can get a good grasp of what each theory is all about, what are its explanatory strengths and weaknesses, how useful is the theory in explaining phenomena in international political economy and what kinds of
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