This assignment asks you to reflect on the two-pronged approach of Robert Cox in political economy, which was introduced in Week 1 and has guided our thinking throughout this module. Problem-solving is about finding policy solutions to complex global processes, while critical thinking calls into question the prevailing social and political processes, and relationships which underpin these processes.
This assignment requires you to produce a report on the external economic diplomacy of a state of your choice, examining the key issues that affect your case study’s foreign economic policy / economic diplomacy. You also need to critique this policy, critically examining the underlying processes, relationships and institutions, and advising appropriate reforms or changes.
This assignment task will be used to consolidate and deepen your knowledge and understanding of the economic diplomacy of a particular state that you are interested in. You have an opportunity to carry out independent research, employing your problem-solving and critical thinking skills to advocate for change.
Module Learning Outcomes
This assignment tests whether you have achieved the learning outcomes of the module:
- Comprehend and critique the standard instruments of international economic diplomacy, in particular trade policy and development cooperation.
- Apply different theories from international political economy and development studies to understand the economic diplomacy of selected states.
- Demonstrate understanding of how law, politics and economics shape trading relationships.
- Demonstrate holistic understanding and knowledge of one developing country’s economic relations with the rest of the world.
- Analyse and discuss key controversies regarding development and trade politics. Use quantitative and legal research resources to communicate and argue these questions.Assignment Brief
Overview
This assignment requires you analyse the economic diplomacy of a single state, addressing some of the key issues affecting the chosen country’s foreign economic policy. This assessment requires you to draw on Robert Cox’s problem-solving / critical thinking theoretical framework explored in Week 1 of this course. Based on this framework, this assignment is divided into two parts: the first requires you to analyse the foreign economic policy / economic diplomacy of your chosen state; the second asks you to critique this use of economic diplomacy, advising reform or radical changes.
Suggested Structure
This report is in two parts, in each part you develop an argument. Each part has its own distinct question:
- Drawing on Cox’s problem solving framework (Week 1), in what ways do you evaluate your chosen state’s effectiveness in implementing economic diplomacy?
- Applying Cox’s critical theory framework, in what ways can your state’s economic diplomacy be enhanced through reform or radical revision?
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Focuses on Robert Cox’s two-pronged theory and using it to analyze an empirical case
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With Cox we can understand time as being a factor.
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Look at power point Cobbett provided to look at the distinction between problem solving theory and critical theory
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Look at the first few slides about the differences between them
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The second article, identify when they are talking about cox’s theory, you can use it as references for the theory part of your assignment
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He talks about the difference between both prongs
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Use the article to get more clarification on it
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Use cox and understand his different theories
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Identify a problem and issue with a country, and through it identify how you would tackle it in relation to problem solving theory and how you would do it in relation to critical theory
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Choose an issue for a country, e.g The African free trade agreement, choose an issue
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Find an issue of economic relevance, e.g pipelines, trade issue, contestation, something that is concrete and identifiable, similar to that of the video
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Be focused, narrowed and concrete in order to develop an analysis
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Find an economic diplomacy issue
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E.g The Issue of CAF franc as an example, how does the ivory coast find a policy solution for the issue of ECO and the creation of a single currency, how does it think of the CAF franc and France from a critical perspective
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How does Ivory coast integrate monetarily, and what does the ivory coast state do in the short term to solve issues, in the long run how does it affect future relations with France
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***Answer What country, what issue, who are the players, how does cox’s critical thinking questions the relations of power and how they came to be set up in the first place
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The policy is saying what do we do now, the critical is how did we get here
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Structure wise:
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Overview of the intro of your case study
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A brief overview of cox’s two theory’s
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Go into the problem solving and then the critical theory but explain the theory so they can see that you understand it in relation to your case study
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Go with something that is in the headlines, that has a lot of information, something that is a clearly defined problem of economic diplomacy/development
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**define your case study, find ways to apply cox’s theory, explain what you understand about cox’s theory and apply both part of the theory because that is what they are testing.
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Focus on getting a good visible clearly defined case, find something concrete and not too broad
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Cox’s point was to change the world you have to go into critical thinking in a longer term, for the CAF example it is to break the relationship and get their own currency and break with the CAF, the longer one is to understand the presence of France and the different treaties
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Find short term responses and change the situation, particular countries disfavoured by economic development because the relations of power can keep these developing countries in positions that are subservient, and to change that around you need to do more than just short term responses
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If you have your case study you say what would a problem solving response look like
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Then what would a critical response look like
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Problem solving, why is this important how would it look like
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Critical theory, why is that important, its important to question development, relations with European or western countries, old histories of power
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Ex. Tesla and phones/cobalt
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Ex. Vietnam, Japan
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Make the conclusion about insights, “I can see the relance of cox for this, therefore I can see the relevance of cox for applying this or that, short term vs long term reveals this or that, the summary will tell us what you’ve learned.