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The Political Economy of Global Finance: A Network Model

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 March 2013

Thomas Oatley ,
W. Kindred Winecoff ,
Andrew Pennock  and
Sarah Bauerle Danzman
Thomas Oatley
Affiliation:
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. E-mail: toatley@email.unc.edu
W. Kindred Winecoff
Affiliation:
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. E-mail: wkwine@email.unc.edu
Andrew Pennock
Affiliation:
Taubman Center for Public Policy & American Institutions, Brown University. E-mail: Andrew_Pennock@brown.edu
Sarah Bauerle Danzman
Affiliation:
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. E-mail: sarah.bauerle@unc.edu
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Abstract

Although the subprime crisis regenerated interest in and stimulated debate about how to study the politics of global finance, it has not sparked the development of new approaches to International Political Economy (IPE), which remains firmly rooted in actor-centered models. We develop an alternative network-based approach that shifts the analytical focus to the relations between actors. We first depict the contemporary global financial system as a network, with a particular focus on its hierarchical structure. We then explore key characteristics of this global financial network, including how the hierarchic network structure shapes the dynamics of financial contagion and the source and persistence of power. Throughout, we strive to relate existing research to our network approach in order to highlight exactly where this approach accommodates, where it extends, and where it challenges existing knowledge generated by actor-centered models. We conclude by suggesting that a network approach enables us to construct a systemic IPE that is theoretically and empirically pluralist.

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Type
Research Article
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Perspectives on Politics , Volume 11 , Issue 1 , March 2013 , pp. 133 - 153
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 2013 

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