Economic Crises and the International System

Economic history teaches us that economic crises are an integral part of the capitalist system. The international economic reality of the last four decades, in particular, shows that economic crises occur with greater frequency and intensity, with even more disasterous consequences for the economies and societies. This course's goal is to investigate this trend, which tends to evolve to a major characteristic of the modern capitalist system. The course's material, except for the book, consists of the tutor's presentations for each lecture, which are available online on the e-class platform, and of bibliography for each subject area which is handed to the students, which is also available on the e-class platform. Notice that the bibliography is mainly english.

Objectives

This subject's goal is to give the students a theoretically complete, and experientially factual picture of the expression, evolution and consequences of the economic crises in terms of the modern global economic system.

Prerequisites

Basic knowledge of macroeconomy, international economics and financials, and international affairs

Syllabus

In this course, the meaning of the economic crisis is examined, in order to fully undersand the different aspects and characteristics it can display. Next, a series of factors are examined, like, amongst others, the prevalence of a system of freely fluctuating exchange rates, the decontrol of capital movements, the development of financial markets, the increasing connection and interrelationship of the national economies and the existence of global economic instabilities, in order to analyze their role and their contribution to the manifestation of economic crises. Moreover, the consequences of the economic crises will be discussed, not only for the nations which experience them, but mainly for the international economic system, emphasizing the effect to its fundumental characteristics, to the international financial and geopolitical balance, and to the global economic governing. This theoretical approach will be supported by the in depth analysis of a series of significant international economic crises of the last decades.