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Trade and Politics
Summer 2017
ChonnamNational University
Location: TBA
Professor Youngmi Choi
Office: Social Science Bldg. #254
Tel: (062) 530-2534
Email:
Office Hours: Monday/Wednesday, 4:00-5:00 PM
Introduction
This course mainly focuses on the politics of international economic relations. We aim to understand main theories in international political economy (IPE), historic debates within the field of IPE and current operation of the world economy. We will begin with understanding the main perspectives on IPE: realism, liberalism and Marxism. Then we will discuss several contemporary issues in IPE, such as global trade, developmental policies in the developing countries, financial crisis, the development of regionalism, free trade agreements, and so on.
Course Objectives
Upon successful completion of the course, you will be equipped with analytical tools essential for understanding the complex reality of politics and policy-making, as they related to international business and economics.
Textbook
1. Thomas Oatley, International Political Economy: Interests and Institutions in the Global Economy, Third Edition (New York: Longman, 2008).
2. Theodore Cohn, Global Political Economy: Theory and Practice, Second Edition (New York: Longman, 2003).
In addition to the textbook, additional readings will be assigned from other sources. You will be able to find most of these additional materials from Google Scholar (
Given the nature of the course and of the examinations, you are strongly urged to do all readings in advance, as assigned on the reading list. Failure to do so will impede your ability to profit from the lectures, and to perform well in section participation and on the examinations.
Grades
Grade will be based on the four following requirements.
Five-minute presentation (10%): you are expected to give five-minute presentation about assigned readings each week (if there are more students than expected you will give it per two or three weeks). The presentations will begin on the second week.
Two short paper (20%): you are required to write two short paper (1500-2000 words). The topic will be handed out around the midterm and the final exams.
Two exams (30% per each, 60% in total): the mid-term and the final exams will encompass all the materials covered in the course. The exams will include three short essay questions as well as multiple-choice and identification questions. The study guide for the short essay questions will be provided prior to the exams.
*There will be absolutely no make-ups for exams.The use of electronic devices of any kind is strictly prohibited during the exams. If you have your phone, or any other electronic device, out during an exam, it will be considered cheating and that case will be reported to the Honor Council.
Quizzes and participation (10%): You will have pop-up quizzes almost every week (no make-ups for quizzes, either). Taking quizzes would replace attendance check. If you have an issue which leads you to miss the class inevitably, you must produce the appropriate documentation stating why they were not able to be in class. All students are responsible for being prepared to discuss the required readings. The following questions may help you prepare for the discussion. (1) What outcome(s) is the author seeking to explain? (2) What is the author's main argument? (3) What is the author's main contribution to existing studies? (4) What are papers' strengths and weaknesses?
Honor Code
Student members of the Chonnam National University community pledge not to cheat, plagiarize, steal, or lie in matters related to academic work. Violations of the Honor Code will not be tolerated and will be referred to the department chair and even to the President.
Plagiarism encompasses the following:1. Presenting as one's own the words, the work, or the opinions of someone else without proper acknowledgment. 2. Borrowing the sequence of ideas, the arrangement of material, or the pattern of thought of someone else without proper acknowledgment.
CLASS SCHEDULE AND READINGS
PART I: INTRODUCTION
WEEK 1
Getting Organized
Introduction
1) What is international political economy?
2) Why is IPE a relatively new area of study?
3) The three main theoretical perspectives in IPE: realism, liberalism, and Marxism.
Chapter 1 (Introduction) in Cohn's book.
PART II: THREE PERSPECTIVES ON IPE
WEEK 2
Realism
1) Basic ideas of the realist perspective
2) Development of realism in IPE
3) Critique of the realist perspective
Chapter 3 (The Realist Perspective) in Cohn's book.
WEEK 3
Liberalism
1) Basic ideas of the liberal perspective
2) Development of liberalism in IPE
3) Critique of the liberal perspective
Chapter 4 (The Liberal Perspective) in Cohn's book.
WEEK 4
Marxism
1) Basic ideas of the Marxist perspective
2) Development of the Marxist in IPE
3) Critique of the Marxist perspective
Chapter 5 (The Historical Structuralist Perspective) in Cohn's book.
WEEK 5
Overall review on the three main theories in IPE
Part III: CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN IPE
WEEK 6
Trade Politics 1: state-centered approach
1) States and industry policy
2) Pros and cons of state-centered policy
Chapter 5 (A State-Centered Approach to Trade Politics) in Oatley's book.
WEEK 7
Trade Politics 2: society-centered approach
1) Domestic interests and coalitions
2) Factor vs. sector model
3) Collective action issues
Chapter 4 (A Society-Centered Approach to Trade Politics) in Oatley's book.
WEEK 8
Midterm exam
WEEK 9
Trade Politics 3: history of global trade relations
1) Formation of the GATT
2) Establishment of the WTO
3) The Third World and global trade issues
Chapter 8 (Global Trade Relations) in Cohn's book.
WEEK 10
Spring Recess
WEEK 11
Trade and Development I: Latin America
1) Import Substitution Industrialization (ISI)
2) ISI in Brazil
Chapter 6 (Trade and Development I) in Oatley's book
WEEK 12
Trade and Development II: East Asia
1) The East Asian Model
2) Economic reform in China
Chapter 7 (Trade and Development II) in Oatley's book
WEEK 13
Financial Crisis in East Asia
1) Development of the 1997-1998 Asian Financial Crisis
2) The main differences between Korean and Taiwan exchange policies
Uk Heo and Alexander Tan, 2003, "Political Choices and Economic Outcomes: A Perspective on the Financial Crisis on South Korea and Taiwan," Comparative Political Studies 36 (6): 679-698.
WEEK 14
Regionalism
1) The main reasons for the rise of regionalism
2) Development in regionalism in Europe, North America, and East Asia
Chapter 9 (Regionalism and the Global Trade Regime) in Cohn's book.
WEEK 15
Free Trade Agreements in East Asia
1) Determinants of FTA formation
2) FTA discussions in East Asia
Youngmi Choi, 2013, "The Optimal Path of a China–Japan–Korea FTA: Multilateral Path or Sequential Path?," Pacific Focus 28 (3): 435-458.
WEEK 16
Final exam