DSPO 27A63 - Political Economy of Europe and the US

This course studies Europe and the United States as a collection of countries that exhibit varying political, economic and policy patterns but face similar problems at the turn of the millennium. It also studies Europe as a political and economic unit that ties European countries together and determines their collective responses to the challenges they face. The first half of the course adopts a comparative political economic angle to explore the similarities and differences among economies, polities and societies in Europe and America. It surveys theories that explain the varying structures of capitalism in different countries – in terms of, for example, institutions and policies adopted to manage class relations, welfare, economic competitiveness and growth – and the emergent challenges that those structures need to adapt to. The second half of the course explores European integration as well as the crises and political turmoil that has characterized Europe and the US in the past decade and a half. The financial and economic crisis of the late 2000s and 2010s strongly informs the discussion, but we will also explore problems (like the pandemic or the climate crisis) that surfaced or intensified since the mid-2010s. The course relies on independent study, class discussion and student papers.