Political Economy

Susan Strange and the Future of IPE

Germain, Randall. In Susan Strange and the Future of Global Political Economy: Power, Control and Transformation, edited by Randall Germain, 19-36. London: Routledge, 2016.

This chapter explains how contributors use Susan Strange's rich conceptual framework to explore the financial crisis and its aftermath, and reflect critically on broader contributions which her work has made to the discipline of international political economy (IPE). Susan Strange's life and times spanned the most tumultuous decades of the twentieth century. Susan Strange spent much of her academic career lamenting and cataloguing the serial failure of scholarship in political science, international relations and international economics to understand how the world and its political economy had changed or was in the process of changing. The global demand for American credit during the financial crisis both fed off and reinforced the pre-existing American capacity to generate and deploy the financial resources. The Strange was an inveterate optimist that things on the ground could be improved upon, if only analysis was sound and the determination to act was both robustly held and appropriately grounded in sustainable values that were widely shared.

Keywords: Political Economy; Theory; Structural Power, Power; General Framework

Contributor(s): Randall Germain and Editor: Randall Germain
Keywords: Political Economy, Theory, Structural Power, Power, Strange-Influenced Works, 2010's
Source and Medium: Book Chapter

Year of Publication: 2016

The Transatlantic Divide: Why Are American And British IPE so Different?

Cohen, Benjamin J. Review of International Political Economy 14, no. 2 (2007): 197-219.

Based on a lecture presented to the inaugural meeting of the International Political Economy Society, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 17 November 2006.

Keywords: Political Economy; Theory

Contributor(s): Benjamin J. Cohen
Keywords: Political Economy, Theory, Strange-Influenced Works, 2000's
Source and Medium: Journal Article

Year of Publication: 2007

Alternative Directions in the Study of the Global Political Economy

Denemark, Robert A. In Rethinking Global Political Economy. Robert A. Denemark, Kurt Burch, Mary Ann Tétreault, Kenneth P. Thomas, editors. 237-245. London: Taylor & Francis, 2003.

Keywords: Political Economy; Theory

Contributor(s): Robert A. Denemark, Editor: Robert A. Denemark, Editor: Kurt Burch, Editor: Mary Ann Tétreault and Editor: Kenneth P. Thomas
Keywords: Political Economy, Theory, Strange-Influenced Works, 2000's
Source and Medium: Book Chapter

Year of Publication: 2003

Authority and Markets: Susan Strange's Writings of International Political Economy

Strange, Susan. Edited by Roger Tooze, Christopher May. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002.

Collection of 16 works by Susan Strange, with an introduction and commentaries by Roger Tooze and Christopher May.

Keywords: Political Economy; Structural Power, Power; Theory; Other

Contributor(s): Susan Strange, Editor: Roger Tooze and Editor: Christopher May
Keywords: Political Economy, Structural Power, Power, Theory, Other, Strange-Influenced Works, 2000's
Source and Medium: Edited Volume

Year of Publication: 2002

European Competitiveness and Enlargement: Is There Anyone in Charge?

Pellegrin, Julie. In Strange Power: Shaping the Parameters of International Relations and International Political Economy, edited by Thomas Lawton, James Rosenau, Amy C. Verdun, 297-316. London: Routledge, 2000.

Keywords: Economics; Europe; Authority; Markets; Political Economy; International Relations; Authority vs Markets

Contributor(s): Julie Pellegrin, Editor: Thomas Lawton, Editor: James Rosenau and Editor: Amy C. Verdun
Keywords: Economics, Authority, Markets, Political Economy, Strange-Influenced Works, 2000's
Source and Medium: Book Chapter

Year of Publication: 2000

Ideology, Knowledge and Power in International Relations and International Political Economy

Tooze, Roger. In Strange Power: Shaping the Parameters of International Relations and International Political Economy, edited by Thomas Lawton, James Rosenau, Amy C. Verdun, 175-194. London: Routledge, 2000.

Keywords: Theory; Knowledge; Political Economy; International Relations

Contributor(s): Roger Tooze, Editor: Thomas Lawton, Editor: James Rosenau and Editor: Amy C. Verdun
Keywords: Theory, Knowledge, Political Economy, Strange-Influenced Works, 2000's
Source and Medium: Book Chapter

Year of Publication: 2000

Knowledge and Structural-Power in the International Political Economy

Mytelka, Lynn K. In Strange Power: Shaping the Parameters of International Relations and International Political Economy, edited by Thomas Lawton, James Rosenau, Amy C. Verdun, 61-78. London: Routledge, 2000.

Keywords: Knowledge; Structural Power, Power; Europe; Political Economy; International Relations

Contributor(s): Lynn K. Mytelka, Editor: Thomas Lawton, Editor: James Rosenau and Editor: Amy C. Verdun
Keywords: Knowledge, Structural Power, Power, Europe, Political Economy, Strange-Influenced Works, 2000's
Source and Medium: Book Chapter

Year of Publication: 2000

Money Power: Shaping the Global Financial System

Verdun, Amy C. In Strange Power: Shaping the Parameters of International Relations and International Political Economy, edited by Thomas Lawton, James Rosenau, Amy C. Verdun, 99-112. London: Routledge, 2000.

Keywords: Structural Power, Power; Money and Finance; Political Economy; International Relations

Contributor(s): Amy C. Verdun, Editor: Thomas Lawton, Editor: James Rosenau and Editor: Amy C. Verdun
Keywords: Structural Power, Power, Money and Finance, Political Economy, Strange-Influenced Works, 2000's
Source and Medium: Book Chapter

Year of Publication: 2000

Setting the Parameters: A Strange World System

Story, Jonathan. In Strange Power: Shaping the Parameters of International Relations and International Political Economy, edited by Thomas Lawton, James Rosenau, Amy C. Verdun, 41-60. London: Routledge, 2000.

Keywords: Knowledge; Political Economy; Structural Power, Power; International Relations; General Framework

Contributor(s): Jonathan Story, Editor: Thomas Lawton, Editor: James Rosenau and Editor: Amy C. Verdun
Keywords: Knowledge, Political Economy, Structural Power, Power, Strange-Influenced Works, 2000's
Source and Medium: Book Chapter

Year of Publication: 2000

Strange Looks on Developing Countries: A Neglected Kaleidoscope of Questions

Leander, Anna. In Strange Power: Shaping the Parameters of International Relations and International Political Economy, edited by Thomas Lawton, James Rosenau, Amy C. Verdun, 343-365. London: Routledge, 2000.

Keywords: Political Economy; Developing Countries

Contributor(s): Anna Leander, Editor: Thomas Lawton, Editor: James Rosenau and Editor: Amy C. Verdun
Keywords: Political Economy, Strange-Influenced Works, 2000's
Source and Medium: Book Chapter

Year of Publication: 2000

Strange's Oscillating Realism: Opposing the Ideal - and the Apparent

Guzzini, Stefano. In Strange Power: Shaping the Parameters of International Relations and International Political Economy, edited by Thomas Lawton, James Rosenau, Amy C. Verdun, 237-250. London: Routledge, 2000.

Keywords: Theory; Political Economy; Structural Power, Power; International Relations; Realism

Contributor(s): Stefano Guzzini, Editor: Thomas Lawton, Editor: James Rosenau and Editor: Amy C. Verdun
Keywords: Theory, Political Economy, Structural Power, Power, Strange-Influenced Works, 2000's
Source and Medium: Book Chapter

Year of Publication: 2000

The Evolving Global Production Structure: Implications for International Political Economy

Lawton, Thomas C., Kevin P. Michaels. In Strange Power: Shaping the Parameters of International Relations and International Political Economy, edited by Thomas Lawton, James Rosenau, Amy C. Verdun, 79-96. London: Routledge, 2000.

Keywords: Political Economy; Production; Theory; International Relations; General Framework

Contributor(s): Book Chapter
Keywords: Political Economy, Production, Theory, Strange-Influenced Works, 2000's
Source and Medium:

Year of Publication: 2000

An International Political Economy Perspective

Strange, Susan. In Governments, Globalization, and International Business, edited by John H. Dunning, 132-145. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997.

In this chapter Strange lays out her idea of what International Political Economy is, including a wide-ranging view of politics (not just the activities of politicians and governments) and a focus on structural power. This then leads her to discuss the problems that globalisation presents for governments, business and people. She concludes that these problems require a re-examination of authority and justice both by states and by international business and adopting an IPE perspective facilitates such analysis. By trying to make a bridge between business research and international relations Strange returns again to the theme of breaking down disciplinary boundaries, see for instance 'International Political Economy: Reuniting three fields of intellectual endeavour' (1989).

Keywords: Globalization; Political Economy; Theory

Contributor(s): Susan Strange and Editor: John H. Dunning
Keywords: Globalization, Political Economy, Theory, 1990's, Susan Strange
Source and Medium: Book Chapter

Year of Publication: 1997

Globalisation and Capitalist Diversity: Experiences on the Asian Mainland

Strange, Susan, editor. Florence: European University Institute/Robert Schulman Centre, 1997.

This volume collects together papers presented at a conference organised by Strange at the EUI on 2-4th May 1996. Strange herself only contributed an introduction outlining the papers in the volume and discussing the organisational background to the conference. Strange argues that comparative politics scholars and international business academics need to 'build bridges' between the two disciplines to better understand the interaction between states and firms. Additionally Strange wanted the conference to bring together European and Japanese academics to discuss the relationship between firms and states in Asia's economic development. Unsurprisingly, this relationship between states and firms, most specifically in the case of Japan and China was the central subject of discussion. However Strange concludes that while the papers collected in the volume broadly agreed on the importance of Asian development for the global economy, the participants were unable to agree on the interaction of states and firms. Finally Strange suggested that mainstream realist and neo-realist approaches to international relations were of little help and what was required was an interdisciplinary comparative international political economy, which she had been advocating for the previous twenty years.

Keywords: Political Economy; Theory; Realism

Contributor(s): Editor: Susan Strange
Keywords: Political Economy, Theory, 1990's
Source and Medium: Edited Volume

Year of Publication: 1997

Political Economy and International Relations

Strange, Susan. In International Relations Theory Today, edited by Ken Booth, Steve Smith, 154-174. Cambridge: Polity Press, 1995.

Noting that it is over twenty years since she and others argued for the end of the false division between politics and economics, Strange argues that the development of modern IPE has been in reaction to events within the global system. She suggests that there is still a division between an American IPE based conception of the Politics of International Economic Relations, and a non-American approach that bears some similarity to her own framework as laid out in States and Markets (1988) and elsewhere. She once again makes many of the criticisms she has detailed before regarding the discipline's deference to international economics. Strange suggests the way forward is to conceptualise politics more widely, building on the work of moral philosophers and to apply her conception of structural power, as well as the more usual considerations of relational power.

Keywords: Political Economy; Structural Power, Power; Theory; International Relations

Contributor(s): Susan Strange, Editor: Ken Booth and Editor: Steve Smith
Keywords: Political Economy, Structural Power, Power, Theory, 1990's
Source and Medium: Book Chapter

Year of Publication: 1995

International Political Economy: Reuniting Three Fields of Intellectual Endeavour

Strange, Susan. Liberal Education 75, no. 3 (1989): 20-24.

Strange uses the work she was co-ordinating with John Stopford, later published as Rival States, Rival Firms: Competition for world market shares (with John M. Stopford and John S. Henley, 1991) to launch a critique of the separation of International Relations, International Economics and the research carried out in business schools. She argues that her approach, foregrounding structural power, requires analysis from all three directions and therefore there needs to be much better contact and co-operation between the three fields. Here Strange is again expressing her frustration, which first surfaced in 'International economics and international relations: a case of mutual neglect' (1970) and continued to produce recommendations for the breaking down of disciplinary boundaries throughout her subsequent career. 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

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

Year of Publication: 1989

Towards a Theory of Transnational Empire

Strange, Susan. In Global Changes and Theoretical Challenges: Approaches to World Politics for the 1990s, edited by Ernst-Otto Czempiel and James N. Roseneau, 161-176. Lexington: Lexington Books, 1989.

In this article Strange offers only her second explicit excursion into the epistemology of international theories, the first being a similar section in States and Markets (1988). She argues that theories must be more than description, taxonomy, importation of models from other disciplines or quantitative and that theories must explain some aspect of the international system not obvious to 'commonsense'. In addition she argues for her own version of non-positivism stressing only that rationality of explanation is required for a theory to be scientific. In the second part of this article Strange argues for a non-territorial theory of imperialism based on her four structures of power. The transnational empire she identifies is centred on the 'court' in Washington DC, and she argues that new studies of empire are needed to understand this new type of transnational empire. What is required is a problem solving theory for such an empire, since it is manifestly in existence. Reprinted in: Political Regulation in the 'Great Crisis', edited by Werner Väth. 25-42. Berlin: Edition Sigma, 1989; and in Authority and Markets: Susan Strange’s Writings on International Political Economy, edited by Roger Tooze and Christopher May. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002.

Keywords: Hegemony; Political Economy; Theory

Contributor(s): Susan Strange, Editor: Ernst-Otto Czempiel and Editor: James N. Roseneau
Keywords: Hegemony, Political Economy, Theory, 1980's
Source and Medium: Book Chapter

Year of Publication: 1989

States and Markets

Strange, Susan. London: Printer Publishers, 1988.

Although subtitled 'An Introduction...' to IPE, this represents the only book length discussion of Strange's theory of the four dimensions of power in IPE. It is at once an introduction to the subject and a forceful agenda setting exercise for further research. As such, though often appearing on undergraduate course reading lists, this is Strange's defining book, one about which the rest of her work revolves. Strange discusses her ideas on theory building and methodology as well as the four structures of power in the international political economy: security, finance, production and knowledge. This discussion is mobilised around the balance of authority and markets and the questions of value preferences, and of course 'cui bono?' (who benefits?). She then applies this analysis to a number of 'secondary structures'. Those who dismiss this as 'merely an introductory text' have completely missed the point! Prologue 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; Authority vs Markets

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

Year of Publication: 1988

International Political Economy: The Story so Far and the Way Ahead

Strange, Susan. In An International Political Economy (International Political Economy Yearbook No. 1), edited by W. Ladd Hollist, F. LaMond Tullis, 13-25. Boulder: Westview Press, 1985.

After noting again the essential role of economic historians in the study and understanding of the international political economy, Strange builds on an appreciation of the value of development economists, a plea for the re-inclusion of values into the study of IPE. This in the main is because they are already tacitly included, but there is little engagement with the economist's prioritising of efficiency or the International Relations scholar's of peace. Part of the job of IPE must be to make clear what choices these priorities represent and to discuss alternatives and different value hierarchies.

Keywords: Political Economy; Theory

Contributor(s): Susan Strange, Editor: W. Ladd Hollist and Editor: F. LaMond Tullis
Keywords: Political Economy, Theory, 1980's
Source and Medium: Book Chapter

Year of Publication: 1985

Protectionism and World Politics

Strange, Susan. International Organisation 39, no. 2 (1985): 233-259.

In discussing the question of protectionism Strange contends that her structural understanding of the international political economy - with four structures; security, production, finance, knowledge - shows that concerns about trade 'inefficiencies' as a disruptive element within the international system miss the real problem. She argues that trade is only a 'secondary structure' which is influenced and shaped by the primary structures. The disruption in the international system and trade relations is in fact a symptom of disruptions within the primary structures, and especially the financial structure. This article represents a forceful precursor to States and Markets (1988) and is the first time that Strange lays out in its fullest form her structural approach to power within the international political economy, including 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: Political Economy; Structural Power, Power; Trade; General Framework

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

Year of Publication: 1985

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