INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY. THE NATURE OF POLITICAL ECONOMY
. Jeffry A. Frieden & David A. Lake: "International Politics and International Economics", in C. Roe Goddard & al. International Political Economy. State-Market Relations in a Changing Global Order (New York: Macmillan, 2003), pp. 25-32

The following material may help us to illustrate the views expressed by Frieden & Lake. Their discussion about the unit of analysis is especially useful: Liberalism & individuals, Marxism & class, Realism & nation-states.

- Patti Waldmeir: "Beijing marches in a different direction", Financial Times. China announces the introduction of short sales and margin trading of shares -- just as the Western world undergoes a financial chaos of historic proportions.

- Edmund Andrews & Vikas Bajaj: "Obama Calls for ‘Common Sense’ on Executive Pay", The New York Times. President Obama announced on Wednesday a salary cap of $500,000 for top executives at companies that receive the largest amounts of money under the $700 billion federal bailout, calling the step an expression not only of fairness but of “basic common sense.”

- David Goldman: "Buy American - Sparks fly", CNN Money. The plan is already drawing opposition. The European Commission on Thursday said it might challenge such a move if it were signed into law. The proposal also appears to fly in the face of a G-20 agreement reached in November, when world leaders decided not to raise new trade barriers in 2009.

- Michael Steen: "Dutch fire salvo at London's tax cut", Financial Times. Wouter Bos singled out London's cut in the VAT from 17.5 per cent to 15 per cent as "not a very wise thing to do", not only for the UK, which would see no benefit, but also for other European countries which were under pressure to follow suit.