Lecture 5 - Jan. 16th, 2019
Institutionalism & Constructivism
Robert Keohane, “The Demand for Regimes” (1982); Martha Finnemore and Kathryn Sikkink,
“International Norm Dynamics and Political Change” (1998)
International Political Economy Re-Emerges
- The international economy appeared to function well in the 1950s and 1960s.
- Trade between the Western allies could be described well by a straight-up
economic model
- There was not yet a subfield of political economics
- Then the Bretton Woods Monetary Regime collapsed in the early 1970’s.
- The breakdown of the agreement between the Western Allies regarding their
monetary policies occurred. The idea that exchange rates would be fixed over
time was contested in the 1960’s.
- The United States and its allies could not agree on what to do.
- Fluctuation in currency values occurred and continued to do so into the 1980’s
- Why were things so stable before?
- Institutionalism emerged during the 1970’s
- OPEC oil embargo underscored the politicization of the international economy.
- The Arab oil-producing states wanted to make a point about the relationship
between the West and Israel and used oil as a political weapon.
- Forming a cartel and manipulating the price of oil was a politicization of the
market/economic ties.
- This introduced the notion that maybe the economic stability of the 50’s and 60’s
wasn’t there, or was a result of political stability underneath.
International Regimes
- Systemic = relating to the international system
- Concept of international regimes introduced in 1970’s
Rules, norms, principles, and procedures…
- Around which actors expectations emerge
- What is a norm? A notion of how you should behave. May not be written down or
explicit.
Examples: the World Trade Organization, Bretton Woods, or the gold standard
- The gold standard had a set of norms, but there was no treaty etc - the regime itself was
made up of more implicit practices.
Questions: Where do these international regimes come from?
The more pressing question in the 1980’s was why do some persist, others evolve, but some fail?
Institutionalism & Constructivism
Robert Keohane, “The Demand for Regimes” (1982); Martha Finnemore and Kathryn Sikkink,
“International Norm Dynamics and Political Change” (1998)
International Political Economy Re-Emerges
- The international economy appeared to function well in the 1950s and 1960s.
- Trade between the Western allies could be described well by a straight-up
economic model
- There was not yet a subfield of political economics
- Then the Bretton Woods Monetary Regime collapsed in the early 1970’s.
- The breakdown of the agreement between the Western Allies regarding their
monetary policies occurred. The idea that exchange rates would be fixed over
time was contested in the 1960’s.
- The United States and its allies could not agree on what to do.
- Fluctuation in currency values occurred and continued to do so into the 1980’s
- Why were things so stable before?
- Institutionalism emerged during the 1970’s
- OPEC oil embargo underscored the politicization of the international economy.
- The Arab oil-producing states wanted to make a point about the relationship
between the West and Israel and used oil as a political weapon.
- Forming a cartel and manipulating the price of oil was a politicization of the
market/economic ties.
- This introduced the notion that maybe the economic stability of the 50’s and 60’s
wasn’t there, or was a result of political stability underneath.
International Regimes
- Systemic = relating to the international system
- Concept of international regimes introduced in 1970’s
Rules, norms, principles, and procedures…
- Around which actors expectations emerge
- What is a norm? A notion of how you should behave. May not be written down or
explicit.
Examples: the World Trade Organization, Bretton Woods, or the gold standard
- The gold standard had a set of norms, but there was no treaty etc - the regime itself was
made up of more implicit practices.
Questions: Where do these international regimes come from?
The more pressing question in the 1980’s was why do some persist, others evolve, but some fail?
