International Political Economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

International Political Economy - Essay Example The traditional approaches of the IPE include the realist, liberal, and Marxist theories that existed before IPE was considered a distinct discipline academically. This paper is going to explain how the feminist IPE theory uses the concept of gender to comment on traditional theories, the insights it provides and then apply the theory to a current IPE event, institution, or conflict. The paper will also discuss the functions a hegemon should provide for the global economy, provide examples of how the United States has served as a hegemon since the end of the World War II, and thereby explain how its role has changed in the current society. Pease (2009) stated that the feminist IPE theory is one of the new approaches in international relations and its focus is to understand the effects of gender on international politics and the feminist understanding of the international processes. According to the feminist theory, gender refers to the expectations and societal norms that are appropriate for female and male behavior. For instance, men are expected by the society to participate in violent activities outside the home environment such as war while the women are expected to care and nurture children back at home. The gender analysis examines the roles of women and men in the society beyond the anatomical differences and it is clear that there are activities that can be done by both men and women (Waring, 1995). According to the ideologies presented by Waring (1995) it is can be argued that economic, social, and political relations in the society are planned around the gender identities. The Feminist IPE theory uses the co ncept of gender to challenge the hidden agendas of the traditional IPE approaches of liberalism, Marxism, and realism (Pease, 2009). Pease (2009) stated that liberalism is an approach that believes in the autonomy for