Historical International Political Economy

The field of International Political Economy (IPE) is steeped in history; and most IPE scholarship today remains historical in a broad sense. Yet, IPE scholars have never been more diverse in their modes of engagement with history, in the influence they ascribe to the weight of history, or in their beliefs about the potential for human progress. This chapter analyzes each of these developments. First, it considers the field’s major modes of engaging history: holistic, comparative, and deep. This includes the use of both old and new historical methods, techniques, and approaches. The chapter then surveys the broad range of views scholars take on the influence of the past on subsequent outcomes, from accounts of strong path dependency to those of perennial change. Last, this chapter discusses the evergreen debates about whether, and how, studying the past can lead to our emancipation from it. Throughout, the chapter highlights opportunities for more “constructive engagement” across distinct bodies of scholarship.