A focus on International Political Economy in RIS

Randy Germain’s excellent article, which revisits certain mid 20th century texts and authors – Carr, Polanyi, and Mitrany, makes the case for their ongoing importance in thinking about IPE. In this it exemplifies the way that the RIS over the years has an exceptionally strong record of leading debates in the history of ideas in IR; this collection focuses in on some key interventions in this vein regarding IPE specifically. It includes other articles that deal with the same thinkers as Germain – Dale’s article on Polanyi and Linklater’s on Carr, notably. But these articles show that in many ways, investigating the history of ideas in political economy is very much at the heart of the history of international thought in general – key questions of power, inequality, and large-scale political transformations. They also exemplify how at various points in time, including the current period, there are constant contestations of who gets to be included in the writing of this history of ideas, as the articles by Waylen and Shilliam show in particular richness. And they show the ongoing value of delving into history to remind us of the rich contributions of writers and thinkers of the past, as Germain shows, but as do the articles here by Shilliam and Watson in particular.

As an introduction to the collection, Randall Germain has provided a summary of the key points from his article ‘Nearly modern IPE? Insights from IPE at mid-century’, watch below:

This collection is free access until the end of February 2023.

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