Turning Points: Decisions Shaping the Evolution of the International Political Economy

Xavier de Vanssay is an associate professor of economics at Glendon
College, York University.

Since the end of the Cold War and the adoption of various multilateral
and bilateral trade agreements, there has been a renewed academic
interest in International Political Economy (IPE). Written by a
political scientist, Turning Points is an introductory textbook on IPE.

The book is divided into three parts. The first part, which covers
definitions, paradigms, and methodological issues, guides students
through the maze of theories. The second (and by far the weakest) part
deals with international economic issues. Here the author has been
careless in two ways. First, he has too often relied on secondary or
even tertiary sources, without trying to update them when necessary; the
result is a misrepresentation of some theories. Second, he has used
vague, imprecise, or even incorrect statements when presenting some
important aspects of economic theory. Particularly distressing is his
inability to correctly explain the basic concept of comparative
advantage.

The final part consists of a series of 12 well-presented case studies
related to international trade (e.g., the Repeal of the Corn Laws) and
international monetary issues (e.g., the Bretton Woods Regime). At the
end of each case, Brawley makes a valiant attempt to find a theoretical
explanation in the various IPE paradigms. The result is unsatisfyingly
ad hoc. Why, for instance, is the “Power of Ideas” useful in
explaining Britain’s return to the gold standard but incapable of
explaining the passage of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff?

All in all, Turning Points asks more questions than it answers and will
probably leave students confused.