International Political Economy: A Correlation between IPE Structures and the IPE Perspective - Report Example

International Political Economy: A correlation between IPE structures and the IPE perspective/theory. International political economy is an academic area which falls under the domain of political sciences that incorporates and analyzes econometrics and (IR) international relations. As an interrelated domain, it includes a diverse academic spectrum, including political sciences, history, sociology, economy and cultural studies.The academic environ of IPE is extendable, and with the acceptable scope of knowledge and understandings, is the subject of robust research. Despite major disagreements, most researchers are in accordance with the fact that IPE is solely concerned with the methodology by which politics (states level or individuals, etc.) forms and establishes the infrastructure of the systems by expressing the economic interactions. Also, the political forces are involved in the converse effect that economic relations cast upon political substructures and consequences. So far there had been many theories regarding the IPE structure and its perception for example hegemonic stability theory, neorealist theory, structural theory, mercantilism and dependency theory etc. This essay is written to provide a brief account on the coherence of the structural and the perspective theories of the international political economy. The relation between the theories and the sole pillars of the international political economy is provided by analyzing the various versions and editions of the New York Times newspapers, which discussed the IPE in a numerous perceptions. The newspapers have been analyzed from cover to cover and there are more or less thirteen different papers each concerning with one specific theory of the IPE. The energy management is a vital topic of research in recent times and it has incorporated all the technical and non-technical debate in its essence since there has been an impression which is widely embraced and believed that world is running out of energy. Therefore, a major part of business and the R&D (research and development) is concerned with the energy management and mitigating the adversaries caused by the energy crisis. In one scenario which has been discussed in the newspaper, the Intel corporation having its industry situated in Vietnam, faced a situation where even the Vietnamese government was unaware of the laws and policies which the Inter Corporation adapts for the sake of power saving and energy crisis management in other areas of the world. In fact one of the Vietnamese officials inquired from the Intel employees if there were more strategies regarding the safe usage of refrigerants, chemicals, oil and other products as the usage of such chemicals are quite cumbersome. A 1 billion dollar plant of chip fabrication under the umbrella of Intel is working miles away from the Ho Chi Minh City of Vietnam. It was examined by Intel Corp. to develop strategies in accordance with the laws of environmental protection as“what’s good for the environment is also good for business” (Ives, n.p). Other multinational companies are also establishing the energy saving and more environment friendly factories and industries in Asia. India is also negotiating the discrepancies in power outages and it is subjugated to the software paradigm also. Numerous software industries in US are hiring the IT professionals and fresh graduates from India. This scenario is an example of the hegemonic stability theory in which there is one man show of the power. This theory states that the harmony of the system is maintained if there is only one sole super power governing the world. This concept is referred to as ‘preponderance of might’ or ‘preponderance of authority’. Another example is China; in this scenario, Chinese wages grew, but this increment also gave a boost to their exports. One or two Chinese businessmen explained that as the wages of Chinese worker were raised to stop them from leaving the country; it has also helped the exports of China being drastically improved. “I saw a remarkable increase in orders from the United States starting in March, and getting better and better since then” (Bradsher, n.p). Another reporter explained the views of the businessmen that China’s currency is competing with the US currency in proportions. China has also accounted for the American imports and with an experts’ opinion it was believed that United States will import even more from China with the rise of its economy. There is a continuum of rise and fall of China’s economy as reported by the macroeconomist researchers. This scenario is an example of Neo-mercantilist theory which encourages exports, discourages import and it is a type of unfair business which is intended for establishing the monopoly in the business market. Next we move to the Draghi’s statement on European economy. The European Central Bank has taken the paramount decision to keep the balance in the European economy afloat. The monetary decisions taken by the court gave a shock to the common market as the benchmark rate was cut to 0.25% from its record rate of 0.5%. Economists fear that this sudden inflation in the European economy could be a tangible cause of its consequent deflation. Mr. Draghi quoted Abraham Lincoln’s quote that “You cannot make the weak stronger by making the strong weaker” (Jolly, n.p). This scenario is an example of the dependency theory where the resources at the expense of rich state are being insinuated by the poorer state to develop the harmony and stabilization of the system. Next, the visit of the Chinese security expert’s to London is being discussed. “It provided the opportunity for Chinese and UK experts to exchange perspectives on these issues, strengthen existing relationships, build new contacts, and discuss practical future collaborative actions” (Saferworld, n.p). The visit’s objective was to extend the Chinese-UK negotiationson a variety of problems regarding the human security, Trade Treaty and the UN and international communities’ part in maintaining the peace between the underdeveloped or the fragile and poor states. It gave an opportunity for Chinese and UK researchers and the experts to exchange their view points on these issues, consolidate the existing relations, and debate on practical cooperation and collaborative advances. This is an example of structuralism where the state and the international relations are discussed on the negotiation, socialism, anthropology and by developing the understanding of each other’s point of views. The mext problem is the Indonesian pollution problem. The main problem in Indonesia is the mercury usage in gold mining. Statistics told that Indonesia is the biggest user of mercury usage in legal and illegal gold mining, then Colombia and then Brazil. Other than that, Indonesia is also subjected to a major devastating issue of the pollution. According to Yu yun, a Oxford alumna “You dig, you get money — and you get poisoned” (Cochrane, n.p). The government official says that the problem would be sorted out in 2019; till then mercury could be used in these procedures. This is an example of Neorealist theory in which international structure is governed by its ordering anarchical attributes and the decentralized system in which there is no central authority. At the same time the European lawmakers have supported the carbon trading system as a move towards pollution control (Reed, n.p). UAE market was continuously facing the draught for several weeks; the statistics showed that there was only a gain of less than one percentbefore the rally began (Powers, n.d). The signs of high trends are being thwarted by the low volume in the recent weeks. This index is surely not the index one would desire when the market is experiencing new heights. This scenario is an example of the mercantilism which is an international economic policy. In this scheme the monetary reserves are accumulated through a positive balance of trades. This also includes the designing of the policies to eradicate the downfall in the economic and business market. Next the 3D printing example is being discussed. “Just how 3D printers work is rather complicated. They don’t really print as much as build, stacking particle after particle of some material, usually plastic but sometimes a resin or even metal, to build an object according to the blue print that’s being used” (Shuey, n.p). Prices may vary, but a cartridge of plastic lies within the range of $50. You can print almost anything; music band ads, scenario on real time basis and other interesting stuff. The state-of-the-art uniqueness of being able to formulate a 3 dimensional object is likely to cause a massive uproar in the manufacturing and fabrication industry, a scientist explained. The Wholer Associates estimated the exponential rise in the printingupof to 10.8 billion by the end of year 2021. The example explained above is depicting the constructivist theory in which the trade, stability of the state and the international security is being considered in a constructive manner. In this perspective, the group consists of developing the shared artifacts and building a common platform for knowledge and research for each other without any hostility. The Islamic banking in the next scenario is calculating its parameters. As Dubai is planning to become the core capital of the Islamic economy, a view of the economists tells us that the economic capitals amounts to nearly 1 trillion dollars as told by some high official. “Dubai’s objective is in line with its historic endeavors as it set up Dubai Islamic Bank in the 1970s, making it a pioneer in the Arab world in the field of Islamic banking and the second after Malaysia, which experimented with Islamic banking in the 1940s” (Al-Harbi, n.p). How doesan Islamic bank operate? These banks are not very different from the mainstream banks around the world. These financial organizations collect share/stakeholder and customer’s capital; invest it for the sake of the gain of profit, which is afterwards divided to share/stakeholders and the clients at the end of every year. Such transactions are carried out without any interest as Islam prohibits the use of the interest in any of the transactions or savings or on loans. However some Islamic banks are not compliant with the Islamic injunctions and they off- the-scene invest their money in Riba-based banks;‘Riba’being the Arabic word for interest. The scenario discussed above is the hegemonic stability theory as the centralization of Islamic bank in the so called economic capital Dubai renders the economic structure as the super power; which is in hand of the Islamic bank only, therefore providing an insignificant opportunity for other mainstream banks to continue business. The Food and Agriculture Organizations (FAO) price statistics which calculate the monthly price variations for a bucket of oilseeds, other essential eatables like dairy, milk, meat and sugar, averaged around 207 points in December; a very small increment rise from a revised 206.4 in November (Reuters, n.p). FAO elucidated that large supplies suppressed down international prices of oils, sugar, and cereals excluding barley and rice but, it also informedthat the dairy and meat cost estimates crossed the records in 2013. In my opinion the large supplies (export) rendered the international prices lowered so this is an example of neo-mercantilism. A significant boom in technology has been experienced in Las Vegas. Which states that the upcoming year a total of 75 gadgets will be produced which will track the devices present in their surroundings. The number of the mobile devices is expected to surpass the number of PCs produced in the upcoming years; an example of the constructive usage of technology and hence the constructivist theory (Shuey, n.p). The UK is supposed to perform best in the present economic conditions as estimated by the experts.“Output in the UK is forecast to grow by 3 per cent in 2014 and again in 2015 — making it the ‘leader of the pack’ among the leading Group of 7 nations” (Daily-Mail, n.p). Also the GCC marketing and trading stabilizing strategies are yet other examples of mercantilism.“The UAE and other countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are poised to become the world’s fastest growing consulting markets this year” (Maceda, n.p). In recent times the smog level at china has set a record and almost every field of life is facing this situation of pollution and hazardous smoke levels all over in China. “China’s government is struggling to meet pollution reduction targets and has pledged to spend more than 3 trillion renminbi, or almost $500 billion, to tackle the problem” (Jourdan, n.p). This is being done by insinuating greenhouse approaches and other measures; an example of realism to depict the situation with emotions and decisions. The GCC is not lending an ear to the remarks and the snide comments of the rivals. “Isn’t it strange these campaigns typically target landmark projects the GCC countries have embarked on to enhance their economic, cultural and sports conditions?” (Al-Asoomi, n.p).The hosting of 2021 FIFA world cup is also an issue that has been aroused and UAE is also targeted in some of the discussions. Some other unfair and illegal campaigns are also launched against the GCC to demoralize the stature of the GCC. Economic experts say that IMF is also supporting such campaigns indirectly.This is a try to establish anarchy in the system and is an example of neorealism. Conclusion International political conditions exert a profound impact on the economic situations that prevail in a given era. Strategies are devised by the countries on national level to compete in the race of economic success that is always existent on international level. These strategies are in accordance to the magnitude and nature of the challenges that are posed. Every political establishment is bound to face challenges that are unique in nature and therefore demand exclusive interventions to overcome the difficulties. Newly emerging concepts and technologies bring about major shifts in manufacturing and marketing trends throughout the world. An example of this is the newly developed concept of 3D-printing which is expected to bring about a revolutionary shift in the patterns of manufacturing on international levels. With the growing industrialization and population, the requirements of energy are also increasing. Similar is the increase in the rate of pollution that is evident on international level. The use of mercury by Indonesia and Brazil for gold mining provides an example where conflict between national interest and the international interest is clearly evident. Although mercury pollution is a grave danger for the international community, these countries are inclined towards continuing their activities merely for financial gains. Keeping in view the nature of problems discussed above, it is safe to conclude that international political conditions and the economies of countries are closely related to each other and the impact of one on the other can have far reaching consequences not only for the countries involved but also for other countries of the world. Works Cited AlHarbi, Mohammad H. "Islamic banks face a moment of reckoning." Gulf News 9 Jan. 2014: n. pag. Web. 19 Jan. 2014. Asoomi, Mohammad A. "Opportunity Beckons in China Smog." Gulf News 8 Jan. 2014: n. pag. Web. 19 Jan. 2014. Bradsher, Keith. "Even as Wages Rise, China Exports Grow." The New York Times 9 Jan. 2014: n. pag. Web. 19 Jan. 2014. Cochrane, Joe. "Small-Scale Gold Mining Pollutes Indonesian Lands." The New York Times 2 Jan. 2014: n. pag. Web. 19 Jan. 2014. Daily Mail. "UK to be best performing major economy for next two years." Gulf News 12 Jan. 2014: n. pag. Web. 19 Jan. 2014. Ives, Mike. "Slowly, Asia?s Factories Begin to Turn Green." The New york Times 7 Jan. 2014: n. pag. Web. 19 Jan. 2014. Jolly, David. "European Central Bank Set to Do Whatever It Takes to Bolster Recovery." The New York Times 9 Jan. 2014: n. pag. Web. 19 Jan. 2014. Jourdan, Adam. "Opportunity Beckons in China Smog." The New York Times 30 Dec. 2013: n. pag. Web. 19 Jan. 2014. Maceda, Cleofe. "GCC consulting market to outperform global markets in 2014." Gulf News 13 Jan. 2014: n. pag. Web. 19 Jan. 2014. Powers, Bruce. "UAE markets end strong heading into 2014." Gulf News 11 Jan. 2014: n. pag. Web. 19 Jan. 2014. Reed, Stanley. "European Lawmakers Support Carbon Trading System." The New York Times 10 Dec. 2013: n. pag. Web. 19 Jan. 2014. Reuters. "Global food prices steady in December: FAO." Gulf News 9 Jan. 2014: n. pag. Web. 19 Jan. 2014. SaferWorld. "Chinese international security experts visit London - News Article - Saferworld." Saferworld.Org. SaferWorld, 19 Nov. 2013. Web. 20 Jan. 2014. Shuey, Scott. "International CES to kick off with a burst of tracking devices." Gulf News 6 Jan. 2014: n. pag. Web. 19 Jan. 2014. Shuey, Scott. "Printing technology enters new era with a third dimension." Gulf News 9 Jan. 2014: n. pag. Web. 19 Jan. 2014. he world. Read More