The primary aim of this course is to understand the political economy of globalization, i.e. the restructuring of economic interactions (both real and financial) at different spatial scales and its consequences for various social groups, from a critical perspective. We will analyze different theoretical approaches to globalization by comparing their assumptions, methods, and implications. It is also important to comprehend the historical and political context in which these different theoretical approaches have evolved over time. Therefore, in addition to standard approaches, alternative views such as Keynesian, institutionalist, Marxist, and other interdisciplinary theories will be explored in this course.

By using alternative economic approaches this course will constitute an analytical framework to help us understand the interaction among the major players such as multinational corporations, nationstates, and international institutions (e.g. IMF, WTO etc.) in the process of globalization. The same framework will also shed light on how this interaction have both enabled and constrained the strategies of various groups with respect to the issues such as inequality, growth, poverty, gender, and ecology associated with globalization.