Summer 2005

UC/Lund JSS

The Political Economy of Globalization

J. Lawrence Broz

This course examines the evolution of the world economy from the late nineteenth century to the present.  Our purpose is not only to describe the historical trends in the international economy but also to explain the causes and the consequences of these trends.  Students come away with the basic tools they need to understand the global economy and the politics of international economic relations.

The history of the modern world economy divides into three periods.  The Golden Age (1870-1913) was a period of extensive globalization; in some respects, nations were more economically integrated then than now.  The Golden Age came to an end with the Interwar Interregnum (1919-1939), which saw nations abandon the world economy and turn inward behind high protectionist barriers and restrictions on international capital flows.  Postwar Globalization (1945-2003) saw the gradual reemergence of the world economy, a trend that is now threatened by politics, anti-globalization forces, and crises in global finance.