A Critical Review of Theoretical Approaches to GPE - Essay Example

Traditionally, there are six central concepts of GPE: state, firm, capital, power, labour and globalisation, which are, from analytical point of view, interconnected. At the forefront of GPE in the understanding of these concepts are the theories of rational choice, of neo-institutionalism, of neo-Marxism, of constructivism and of postmodernity. These, however, are the objects of ongoing debates among scholars, and several thoughts and analyses have posited new ideas and concepts, either affirming or negating them.

This paper seeks to provide a critical review of three literatures on the subject, to wit: (1)‘Strategic Interests and International Political Economy’ by Stephen Greenwold, 1999, (2) ‘Competitiveness: A Dangerous Obsession’ by Paul Krugman, 1994, and (3) ‘Globalisation, Hegemony and Passive Revolution’ by Anne Showstack, 2001. The three literatures tackle interrelated concepts and theories of GPE. All three authors advocate for the realist perspectives in the understanding of GPE, competitiveness, and of hegemony and passive revolution in the context of globalization, respectively.

Greenwold, Stephen (1999), in his article ‘Strategic Interests and International Political Economy’, discusses at length about the rivaling theories of IPE, how each is unique from and similar to the rest of the theories. However, Greenwold stresses on the realist theory as the most relevant and provides the most reasonable and sensible explanations in today’s socio-economic and political landscape, as it tries to look at the interrelatedness of economic forces and political forces in the shaping of nation-states.

On the other hand, Krugman, Paul (1994) keenly tackles about a relatively new concept in economics which has revolutionized states and corporations at the onset of globalization. Krugman argues that the concept of nations as corporate companies competing against one another