Journal Article

The Global Political Economy, 1959-1984

International Journal 39, no. 2 (1984): 267-283.

After discussing some terms she would like to see the back of (‘actors’, ‘issue-areas’), reviewing years of the Global Political Economy, Strange proposes four structures that condition change. These are Security, Production, Knowledge and Finance, and though at this point this is only used as a taxonomy for looking at changes in the GPE, it represents the first time the structures of her theory appear in their final configuration. Strange also stresses that while the four structures are not hierarchical, she believes it is disruptions in the financial structure that has caused most upheavals over the period examined.

Keywords: Money and Finance, Structural Power, Power

Contributor(s): Susan Strange
Keywords: Money and Finance, Structural Power, Power, 1980's, Susan Strange
Source and Medium: Journal Article

Year of Publication: 1984

The Global Political Economy, 1959-1984

Strange, Susan. International Journal 39, no. 2 (1984): 267-283.

After discussing some terms she would like to see the back of ('actors', 'issue-areas'), reviewing years of the Global Political Economy, Strange proposes four structures that condition change. These are Security, Production, Knowledge and Finance, and though at this point this is only used as a taxonomy for looking at changes in the GPE, it represents the first time the structures of her theory appear in their final configuration. Strange also stresses that while the four structures are not hierarchical, she believes it is disruptions in the financial structure that has caused most upheavals over the period examined.

Keywords: Money and Finance; Structural Power, Power

Contributor(s): Susan Strange
Keywords: Money and Finance, Structural Power, Power, 1980's
Source and Medium: Journal Article

Year of Publication: 1984

Review of: C.F Bergsten The World Economic in the 1980s - Selected Papers (Toronto: D.C Heath, 1981)

Strange, Susan. International Journal 38, no. 2 (1983): 355-356.

Strange criticises Bergsten’s exaggeration of US decline in hegemonic power and absolution of the USA of bearing prime responsibility for the deteriorating economic situation. Indeed much of her work in the 1980s revolved round the dual need to recognise US responsibility for global economic crises, and the problem of such a responsibility being denied by the US (both policy makers and academics). Reprinted in: Authority and Markets: Susan Strange’s Writings on International Political Economy (edited by Roger Tooze & Christopher May) Basingstoke: PalgraveMacmillan 2002.

Key Terms: Hegemony

Contributor(s): Susan Strange
Keywords: Hegemony, 1980's
Source and Medium: Journal Article

Year of Publication: 1983

Cave! Hic Dragones: A Critique of Regime Analysis

Strange, Susan. International Organisation 36, no. 2 (1982): 479-496.

Strange's classic critique of regime theory, often used as a touchstone for those regime-theorists wanting to make the point they recognise that there have been criticisms of their approach. As such it has at least a totemic importance. Strange argues for five shortcoming of regime theory: that it is a passing fad, is imprecise, has a value bias, is too static and is too state-centred. As in 'What is Economic Power, and Who has it?' (1975) the underlying history of bargains, which condition regimes are emphasised as being crucial to any understanding of the IPE. The rather brief structural power analysis conflates what Strange would come to term primary and secondary structures. 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: Foundational Work; Political Economy; Structural Power, Power; Theory; Regime Theory

Contributor(s): Susan Strange
Keywords: Foundational Work, Political Economy, Strcutural Power, Power, Theory, 1980's, Susan Strange
Source and Medium: Journal Article

Year of Publication: 1982

Looking Back - But Mostly Forward

Strange, Susan. Millennium: Journal of International Relations 11, no. 1 (1982): 38-49.

In this survey article, Strange looks back across the first ten years of Millennium to examine the development of International Relations, although as she makes plain she prefers the term International Studies. Having seen the field expand from a focus on the foreign polices of various states, she maps the increasing interest in the international system itself. However, she then argues that what is now needed is a further development of research into the structures of this system. This acts as a useful complement to the final section of ‘Cave! Hic Dragones: A Critique of Regime Analysis' (1982) giving a discipline based context for her arguments regarding the development of her research programme for International Political Economy.

Keywords: Political Economy; Theory

Contributor(s): Susan Strange
Keywords: Political Economy, Theory, 1980's
Source and Medium: Journal Article

Year of Publication: 1982

Reactions to Brandt. Popular Acclaim and Academic Attack

Strange, Susan. International Studies Quarterly 25, no. 2 (1981): 328-342.

Strange’s ‘review of the reviews’ draws two distinctions between reactions to the Brandt Report - American and European, popular and academic. Her discussion briefly outlines the ‘global Keynsianism’ aspects of the report before noting the criticisms that were levelled at it. After noting that in the academy many of the analyses of the problems and ‘pie in the sky’ solutions were nothing new, her final lament is that the report continues to accept the curative value of research and knowledge, set aside from the political process. She concludes by arguing that the report cannot be safely dispensed with as whatever its faults and shortcomings it identifies major problems that will continue to beset the global system without some sort of political determination to address the problem of mal-distribution of welfare. The recognition of the importance of global political processes continues to be a central theme in her work.

Keywords: Political Economy; Theory; International Economics

Contributor(s): Susan Strange
Keywords: Poltical Economy, Theory, 1980's
Source and Medium: Journal Article

Year of Publication: 1981

The World's Money: Expanding the Agenda for Research

Strange, Susan. International Journal 36, no. 4 (1981): 691-712.

After a survey of current modes of thought, both academic and practitioner, Strange concludes that while much analysis can usefully illuminate the mechanisms of the global monetary system, there is little attempt ally this to a consideration how the system links up with and effects the values of and outcomes in a globalised society. She wants work on the international monetary system to go beyond a mere mechanical explanation and to move towards a more political analysis (which would also include an assessment of the impact of technology on global finance). In this she compares the study of the financial system unfavourably with the increasing sophisticated account of the global ecological system. Strange also briefly touches on the creation of credit and the transfer of risk which would be taken up subsequently in 'The Credit Crisis: A European View' (1983) and 'Structures, Values and Risk in the Study of the International Political Economy' (1983).

Keywords: Money and Finance; Theory

Contributor(s): Susan Strange
Keywords: Money and Finance, Theory, 1980's
Source and Medium: Journal Article

Year of Publication: 1981

The Mamagement of Surplus Capacity: Or How Does Theory Stand up to Protectionism 1970s style?

Strange, Susan. International Organisation 33, no. 3 (1979): 303-334.

In this article, which is a clear precursor to The Politics of International Surplus Capacity (with Roger Tooze, 1981), Strange discusses the management of surplus capacity in three sectors of the international economy - steel, textiles and shipbuilding, and the recourse to protectionism. She then goes on to discuss the problems this implies for mainstream theories of international economics. She argues that Liberalism, theories of development, and organisational or functionalist theories do not offer satisfactory explanations for the resurgence of tariff barriers. This is partly because none of these theories deal with economic power satisfactorily, though Strange offers little in the way of a corrective. She concludes by again arguing that it is increasingly difficult to draw a line between international and domestic policy, and thus theories that only deal with one or other side of this duality will by implication fail in their analysis. An earlier version was presented at the Tokyo meeting of the ISA, BISA and the Japan Association of International Relations in October 1977.

Keywords: Production; Theory; Trade; Structural Power, Power

Contributor(s): Susan Strange
Keywords: Production, Theory, Trade, Structural Power, 1970's
Source and Medium: Journal Article

Year of Publication: 1979

International Shipping and the Developing Countries

Strange, Susan, Richard Holland. World Development 4, no. 3 (1976): 241-251.

Focusing on the importance of sea transport for developing countries that need to gain access to other markets (both for imports and their own exports) Strange and Holland examine the political economy of liner conferences by which international shipping capacity is managed. This private management system does not serve the developing states well leading UNCTAD to press for fairer international rules of conduct for international shipping. On one side the authors suggest that developing countries, where possible may need to develop national carriers to allow them to influence the management of shipping as well offering an secure avenue for their own trade. However, the authors also stress that a political response to the problems is required from the developed states before the problem leads to major disruption in international trade. The authors conclude that a form of international shipping authority needs to be set up to replace the market driven liner conferences.

Keywords: International Institutions; Trade; Transportation; International Development

Contributor(s): Susan Strange and Richard Holland
Keywords: International Institutions, 1970's
Source and Medium: Journal Article

Year of Publication: 1976

Review of Robert O. Keohane and Joseph S. Nye (1977) Power and Interdependence: World Politics in Transition and Edward L. Morse (1976) Modernization and Transformation of International Relations

Strange, Susan. International Affairs 53, no. 2 (1977): 270-273.

In this short review of two important books in the development of International Political Economy, Strange briefly suggests the position which she would adopt more forthrightly later in her career: that IPE was not a sub-discipline of International Relations, but rather sought to completely redefine what it is to study the global system.

Keywords: Political Economy; Theory; International Relations

Contributor(s): Susan Strange
Keywords: Political Economy, Theory, 1970's
Source and Medium: Journal Article

Year of Publication: 1977

The Study of Transnational Relations

Strange, Susan. International Affairs 52, no. 3 (1976): 333-345.

Published alongside 'Who Runs World Shipping?' (1976). In this article Strange sets out an outline method for sectoral analysis in the international economy. This is prefaced by a critical engagement with the Nye and Keohane 'transnational politics' approach. After stressing the inseparability of politics and economics, and the crucial authority/market trade-off, she suggests three analytical questions that must be asked in any sectoral analysis; questions about the loci and distribution of power over economic processes, the who, why, and how of economic intervention, and the question of the consequences, and benefits. Only by building up from systematic sectoral analyses can the asymmetrical bargaining processes, the impact of technology, the influence of markets and the politicisation of the international political economy be understood.

Keywords: Political Economy; Structural Power, Power; Theory

Contributor(s): Susan Strange
Keywords: Political Economy, Structural Power, Power, Theory, 1970's
Source and Medium: Journal Article

Year of Publication: 1976

Who Runs World Shipping?

Strange, Susan. International Affairs 52, no. 3 (1976): 346-367.

Published alongside 'The Study of Transnational Relations?' (1976). Based on the theory developed in that article, Strange's sectoral analysis (of world shipping), which carries some material forward from 'International shipping and the developing countries' (with Richard Holland, 1976).

Keywords: Theory; Trade; International Institutions; Transportation; International Development

Contributor(s): Susan Strange
Keywords: Theory, Trade, International Institutions, 1970's
Source and Medium: Journal Article

Year of Publication: 1976

What is Economic Power, and Who Has it?

Strange, Susan. International Journal 30, no. 2 (1975): 207-224.

Here Strange commits to print an early version of the structure of power theory which she would develop over the next thirteen years. In this manifestation, there are three dimensions of power in the international political economy - security, 'ideology' and economic. There is more concern, though, with a location of four level or stages at which economic power is apparent - the world market structure; international co-operative relations; national/governmental control of markets; and the operational level of the economic transactions themselves. The importance of the history of bargains for the international structure is identified, but not developed fully. This is based on a paper given to the ISA Conference in March 1973 entitled 'The Market as an International Actor - The Case of the Eurocurrency Markets.' 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; Structural Power, Power; Theory; International Economics

Contributor(s): Susan Strange
Keywords: Political Economy, Structural Power, Power, Theory, 1970's
Source and Medium: Journal Article

Year of Publication: 1975

Arab Oil and International Finance

Strange, Susan. The Ditchley Journal 1 (1974): 10-23.

Essentially a conference report, Strange discusses the meeting held at Ditchley in December 1973 to discuss the financial prospects and problems for industry and government in the world economy, and the inescapable problem of the oil crisis. Discussing the various aspects of monetary order, from balance of payments problems and trade barriers, to financial flows, she argues that at this point too little work had been done to understand the effects and causes of shifts in monetary flows. In a repeated theme of much of Strange’s work on finance she argues strongly for a move away from an exclusively economic/financial analysis of the problem, and a (re)introduction of political analysis. Again Strange, although less explicitly than elsewhere, argues for a ‘new’ International Political Economy.

Keywords: Hegemony; International Institutions; Money and Finance; Structural Power, Power

Contributor(s): Susan Strange
Keywords: Hegemony, International Institutions, Money and Finance, Structural Power, Power, 1970's, Susan Strange
Source and Medium: Journal Article

Year of Publication: 1974

Review of: R.J Barber The American Corporation: Its Power, Its Money, Its Politics

Strange, Susan. International Journal 27, no. 2 (1972): 308-309.

Strange feels that the author overstates the political power and influence of multinational in themselves. She identifies a close connection between the US government and larger corporations. Interestingly this is a position that she gradually moves away from in subsequent work, identifying transnational firms as actors in their own right by 67), arguing for their major importance as actors in the international political economy.

Keywords: Corporations; Hegemony; Transnational Corporations

Contributor(s): Susan Strange
Keywords: Corporations, Hegemony, 1970's
Source and Medium: Journal Article

Year of Publication: 1972

The Dollar Crisis 1971

Strange, Susan. International Affairs 48, no. 2 (1972): 191-216.

Using the 'Dollar Crisis' as a way of examining the problems which beset academic approaches to international relations Strange suggests that: foreign policy analysis seems unable to recognise the centrality of economic problems for states; (Neo)functionalism is far too optimistic concerning the possibility of international integration; much 'abstract theorising', such as game theory, seems to have no connection with what is happening in the international system; and international economics has diverted attention away from international political problems. Strange forcefully argues that: political economy is crucial to understanding international relations; the US is dominant due to its financial power, not its military or economic might; internationalisation (or now 'globalisation') diminishes the prospective advantages of regional economic solutions; the 'market' must be understood as an actor! Bearing these ideas in mind she then examines the 'Dollar Crisis' concluding that international institutions were revealed as powerless when the US wished to follow a specific policy (revealing its power). Strange would continue to refine this position during the next two decades.

Keywords: Hegemony; International institutions; Markets; Money and Finance; Political Economy

Contributor(s): Susan Strange
Keywords: Hegemony, International Institutions, Markets, Money and Finance, Political Economy, 1970's
Source and Medium: Journal Article

Year of Publication: 1972

Sterling and British Policy: A Political View

Strange, Susan. International Affairs 47, no. 2 (1971): 302-315.

Strange sets the decline of sterling and the rise of the dollar in the context of international politics. She stresses the need to integrate economic studies with those of international relations. Both state behaviour and the behaviour of international society, hitherto interpreted in terms of power and politics should now be extended to take in the monetary factor especially in the light of economic interdependence - the monetary factor is bound to become increasingly important in understanding state behaviour. These views are then developed in Sterling and British Policy (1971) while the importance of monetary factors is a theme which underlies all of her subsequent work.

Keywords: Money and Finance; United Kingdom; Interdependence

Contributor(s): Susan Strange
Keywords: Money and Finance, United Kingdom, 1970's
Source and Medium: Journal Article

Year of Publication: 1971

International Economics and International Relations: a Case of Mutual Neglect

Strange, Susan. 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

Contributor(s): Susan Strange
Keywords: Political Economy, Theory, Foundational Work, 1970's
Source and Medium: Journal Article

Year of Publication: 1970

International Money Matters

Strange, Susan. International Affairs 46, no. 4 (1970): 737-743.

Strange uses a survey of a number of recent textbooks (and other writing) on international economics to criticise the economics profession as a whole for taking too little account of politics. Most economists are satisfied with international growth and rising ‘efficiency’ she argues without ever asking questions regarding the evident inequalities in the intentional economy or the political dimensions of the uneven growth between countries. These criticisms were instrumental in her call in other writing around this time for the establishment of a discipline of International Political Economy.

Keywords: Money and Finance; Political Economy

Contributor(s): Susan Strange
Keywords: Money and Finance, Political Economy, 1970's
Source and Medium: Journal Article

Year of Publication: 1970

The Politics of International Currencies

Strange, Susan. World Politics 23, no. 2 (1970): 215-231.

Here Strange argues that because of interdependence states are not so much defenders of national territories or peoples but of national currencies and monetary systems. Conflict can be caused by one monetary system damaging another. The expansion of the international economy requires more and more sophisticated and complex monetary and financial arrangements and the forms of association among them. Strange starts to map out a political theory of international currencies which is developed in Sterling and British Policy (1971).

Keywords: Money and Finance; Political Economy

Contributor(s): Susan Strange
Keywords: Money and Finance, Political Economy, 1970's
Source and Medium: Journal Article

Year of Publication: 1970

Debts, Defaulters, and Development

Strange, Susan. International Affairs 43, no. 3 (1967): 516-529.

Strange suggests that problems of national debt default have not been solved, merely suppressed by the expansion of credit provision. Developing states dependence on ‘supplier credit’, and frequent rescheduling of other debts will lead to eventual wide-spread default unless action is taken. She suggests that: principles governing international loans should be established; these ‘rules’ should be applied through aid-agencies and other international bodies; technical assistance to finance ministries should be available from multilateral institutions (the World Bank, possibly) to ensure states understand their fiscal position and their options. Strange argues that these measures are necessary to forestall a return to the nineteenth century policies of forced intervention, or economic ostracisation of developing states. Strange identifies the centrality of finance to international relations - a central theme of all her subsequent work.

Keywords: International Institutions; Money and Finance

Contributor(s): Susan Strange
Keywords: International Institutions, Money and Finance, 1960's
Source and Medium: Journal Article

Year of Publication: 1967

A New Look at Trade and Aid

Strange, Susan. International Affairs 42, no. 1 (1966): 61-73.

In the light of UNCTAD’s problems, declining optimism over foreign aid and the unfavourable terms of trade for developing states, Strange suggests that ‘Prebisch’s thesis’, allowing subsidised exporting by developing states, and the dropping of tariff barriers, while unpopular would be a useful way forward. She suggests an ‘import bounty’ system, to diffuse opposition, paid for through a tax on developed states domestic and exporting manufacturers. While encouraging industry in developing states, instead of commodity exports, this would reduce the ‘loading of the dice’ identified by G77. Even if not achievable multilaterally, bilateral implementation would help revive help to the developing world and help developed state’s industry to revive through competition. Strange posits the structural problems of international trade, while suggesting the way forward through a combination of economics and politics. 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: Production; Trade; Economic Development

Contributor(s): Susan Strange
Keywords: Production, Trade, 1960's, Susan Strange
Source and Medium: Journal Article

Year of Publication: 1966

Review of: J.L Allen Soviet Economic Power

Strange, Susan. Economica 28, no. 109 (1961): 98-99.

Strange challenges the implicit assertion by the author that the interpretation of Soviet interest, or its choice of the means to an end, is static. She also doubts the ascription by the author of Finnish subservience to the Soviet Union as being solely one of economic dependence rather than strategic vulnerability. As one would expect Strange dismisses mono-causality, as she continues to do in all her work.

Keywords: Political Economy; Security; International Relations

Contributor(s): Susan Strange
Keywords: Political Economy, Security, 1960's
Source and Medium: Journal Article

Year of Publication: 1961