17

I

CONTENDING

PERSPECTIVES ON

INTERNATIONAL

POLITICAL ECONOMY

As outlined in the Introduction, two principal theoretical dimensions can be used
to organize debates within international political economy. The first addresses the
relative importance of international and domestic variables in accounting for trends
in the international political economy; the second, the significance of institutional
and societal factors. Part I contains four selections, one representing each approach
as applied to a specific issue. In a classic example of an international political
approach, Stephen D.Krasner (Reading 1) examines patterns of trade openness
within the international economy over the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Barry
Eichengreen (Reading 2) uses a domestic society-centered theory to account for
the Smoot-Hawley Tariff, which contained some of the highest duties in history.
Douglass C.North (Reading 3) emphasizes the effect of domestic institutions on
economic growth. Finally, Susan Strange (Reading 4) explores how international
economic factors have altered both the relationship between states and firms and
the nature of diplomacy between countries. As exemplars of their respective
approaches, these essays are intended only to illustrate basic themes and arguments;
all four approaches contain a rich diversity of styles and conclusions, and the
essays selected here are only a sample. Nonetheless, they serve to highlight key
analytic debates and provide a useful empirical introduction to critical trends and
cases in international political economy.