Political Economy

The International Politics of Surplus Capacity: Competition for Market Shares in the World

Strange, Susan, Roger Tooze, editors. London: Allen and Unwin, 1981.

This is a collection of 17 essays resulting from a conference held by the International Political Economy Group of the BISA, together with an editorial overview of theoretical approaches to IPE and a conclusion concerning the agreements and differences among the contributors. Writing with Tooze, Strange notes that it is not intended to dispense with the ‘insights’ of the realists, but it is necessary to widen their approach considerably. Any analysis should start by recognising the key historical bargains that were made within the economic structure. But the editors are not sure of the present possibility of an all embracing theory of international political economy. They conclude: there is a lessening possibility of dividing off the national from the international; any study of international relations (political or economic) must take account of values to avoid sterility in the analysis of outcomes; a structural analysis is not necessarily incompatible with realism; and IPE can only be meaningful where it builds on international economic history. Strange here identifies the following structures in international society: security, finance, distribution of knowledge, provision of welfare, transport services and communications; exchange and employment structures, without extensive analysis.

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

Contributor(s): Editor: Susan Strange and Editor: Roger Tooze
Keywords: Political Economy, Structural Power, Power, Theory, 1980's
Source and Medium: Edited Volume

Year of Publication: 1981

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

The Financial Factor and the Balance of Power

Strange, Susan. In Foreign Policy: Policy Making and Implementation, edited by James Barber, Josephine Negro, Micheal Smith, 35-46. Milton Keynes: Open University, 1975.

Strange presents the Soviet-American balance of power alongside the balance of power in the international monetary system to make links between supposedly different sectors of the international system. While these balances function in different ways, Strange prefaces her remarks with a short argument for an International Political Economy approach to problems rather than a predominantly political or predominantly economic account. This short piece illustrates her argument about the applicability of her IPE approach, but does not include her more usual extended criticism of previous analyses from International Relations or International Economics.

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

Contributor(s): Susan Strange, Editor: James Barber, Editor: Josephine Negro and Editor: Michael Smith
Keywords: Money and Finance, Political Economy, Structural Power, Power, 1970's, Susan Strange
Source and Medium: Book Chapter

Year of Publication: 1975

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

IMF: Monetary Managers

Strange, Susan. In The Anatomy of Influence: Decision Making in International Organisation, edited by Robert W. Cox and Harold K. Jacobson, 263-297. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1974.

This is a detailed case study of the IMF, which Strange uses to back up her warning that there can be no justification for an analytical division between the economic and the political. She argues that the IMF can only be understood within its international political context, and suggests that any institutional changes will reflect the continuing development of the international economy. It is important to recognise that the US is its chief initiator of policy and influence, both directly through its constitutionally predominant position in the organisation and through its wider impact on the international environment in which the IMF operates. Although not a full argument for structural power, this article recognises that relational power is insufficient to fully explain power relations within the IMF.

Keywords: Money and Finance; Political Economy

Contributor(s): Susan Strange, Editor: Robert W. Cox and Editor: Harold K. Jacobson
Keywords: Money and Finance, Political Economy, 1970's
Source and Medium: Book Chapter

Year of Publication: 1974

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

The Multinational Corporation and the National Interest

Strange, Susan. In Decision Making in Britain, edited by James Barber, 165-178. Milton Keynes: Open University, 1972.

In one of her earliest pieces to deal directly with multinational companies or corporations Strange argues that an analysis of the companies not only leads to both domestic and foreign policy making but also into the realm of international (regulatory) policy making. Much of the text is taken up with a discussion of the likely conflicts in interest between governments and corporations with multinational operations (as she prefers to term them). In the main she is concerned to note the national interest in control and the difficulty of trying to control non-national companies, but she notes the already troublesome problems of taxation and regulation. She concludes that rather than threats by other states, the main problems that states need to deal with are linked with the operations of international business in one way or another.

Keywords: Corporations; Political Economy; Transnational Corporations; International Economics

Contributor(s): Susan Strange and Editor: James Barber
Keywords: Corportations, Political Economy, 1970's
Source and Medium: Book Chapter

Year of Publication: 1972

Sterling and British Policy

Strange, Susan. London: Oxford University Press, 1971.

Strange proposes a four element theoretical framework for international currencies in the international political economy: Neutral currencies; Top currencies; Master Currencies; and Negotiated currencies, where each category exhibits certain economic and political characteristics. A currency may display more than one set of characteristics but will belong predominantly to one category. She then goes on to discuss the development of the international political economy in light of the decline of sterling and the rise of the dollar. The discussion of the sectoral implications for Britain is firmly placed in its international political context, prefiguring Strange’s later argument that sectoral analysis should precede general analysis of the international political economy.

Keywords: Money and Finance; Political Economy; Theory; United Kingdom

Contributor(s): Susan Strange
Keywords: Money and Finance, Political Economy, Theory, United Kingdom, 1970's
Source and Medium: Book

Year of Publication: 1971

The United Nations and International Economic Relations

Strange, Susan. In The Evolving United Nations: A Prospect for Peace?, edited by Kenneth J. Twichet, 100-119. London: Europa Publications for the David Davies Memorial Institute of International Studies, 1971.

Contrasting a Unitarian ('one-world') or egalitarian vision of the United Nations mission with a reformist position, Strange argues that despite some early hopes that the UN might remake the global economy, its subsequent history has revealed it to be largely powerless over much of international economic relations. Where it has been able to influence the international economy this has been through symbolic actions rather than by direct intervention. Here, Strange stresses the political embeddedness of international markets, and relates the inability of the UN to intervene to the lack of any overarching international political authority, either represented by the UN or other international organisations.

Keywords: Political Economy; United Nations; International Economics

Contributor(s): Susan Strange and Editor: Kenneth J. Twitchet
Keywords: Political Economy, 1970's
Source and Medium: Book Chapter

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

Research on International Organisation

Strange, Susan, Geoffrey Goodwin. Research on International Organisation (Social Science Research Council Review of Current Research: 2). London: Heinemann Educational, for the Social Sciences Research Council, 1968.

Acting as a rapporteur for the SSRC Advisory Group on International Organisation (chaired by Goodwin), Strange maps out current and future research as well as examining its organisation and administration. Though published two year prior to Strange’s first call for the establishment of International Political Economy, in 'International economics and international relations: a case of mutual neglect' (1970), this report on the discussion of research into international organisation and international relations reveals many themes (from the impact of structure and technology to the importance of international economics) she would develop in her own work.

Keywords: Knowledge; Political Economy; Theory; International Economics

Contributor(s): Susan Strange and Geoffry Goodwin
Keywords: Knowledge, Political Economy, Theory, 1960's
Source and Medium: Report

Year of Publication: 1968

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

The Schumann Plan

Strange, Susan. In Year Book of World Affairs 1951, edited by George W. Keeton, Georg Schwarzenberger, 109-130. London: Stevens, 1951.

Again discussing the linkage between politics and economics, Strange points out that economic integration could not be achieved without political control from above, that it is not possible for economic integration to move forward without the political will for it to happen. However the clear aim of the Schumann Plan was to redress the balance of economic power in Western Europe in favour of France and at the expense of Germany, rather than necessarily provide for increased integration.

Keywords: Europe; Hegemony; Political Economy; United States; International Relations; European Integration

Contributor(s): Susan Strange, Editor: George W. Keeton and Editor: Georg Schwarzenberger
Keywords: Europe, Hegemony, Political Economy, United States, 1950's and earlier
Source and Medium: Book Chapter

Year of Publication: 1951