International Economics and International Relations: a Case of Mutual Neglect

Strange, Susan. “International Economics and International Relations: a Case of Mutual Neglect.” International Affairs 46, no. 2 (1970): 304-315.

Strange’s first call for the development of International Political Economy as a separate discipline. She identifies a major void between the academic study of international relations and the study of international economics. The failure to fill this void will result in a loss of relevance for the subjects and an inability to deal with the major problems that beset the international economy. This will also lead to the inability to analyse the two main tendencies in the international economic system; growing international co-operation and organisation, and increased domestic defensiveness over national welfare issues. Only by introducing economics into International Relations courses, and politics into International Economics courses could these shortcomings be addressed.

Reprinted in: Authority and Markets: Susan Strange’s Writings on International Political Economy, edited by Roger Tooze and Christopher May. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002.

Keywords: Political Economy; Theory; Foundational Work; International Relations; International Economics

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