The international system is often assumed to be anarchic, i.e. ruled by none. States are formally sovereign, there is no global policeman and war is frequent. At the same time, some states are clearly more powerful than others, some regions richer than others, some societies more developed than others, some cultures more dominant than others, some genders and races more privileged than others. Thus despite formal anarchy and the political equality among states and societies that it implies, there is a pervasive international hierarchy born of unequal political-economic relations, domination and exploitation at the global level. This course seeks an understanding and explanation of contemporary international hierarchy from a critical or radical perspective. Some key questions asked in the course include: Is `free trade' really free? Are we experiencing a global race to the bottom? Is `globalization' just another word for `Americanization'? Along the way we will study various Marxist interpretations of global capitalism and the international political economy, including classical Marxism, dependency theory, world systems theory, and neo-Gramscian work. We will also review some critical non-Marxist approaches including green theory, feminism and post-colonial studies. Format: discussion. Requirements: regularly submit discussion questions, three essays, one paper, class participation. Prerequisites: Political Science 202 or consent of instructor. Enrollment limit: 24. International Relations and Theory Subfields