The Space of International Political Economy: On Scale and its Limits

This article introduces the contribution made by scholars writing on the 'new political economy of scale'. It explains how this approach shares with neo-Gramscian approaches a concern with challenging the problematic assumptions of much international political economy theorising. Moreover, if the achievement of scholars such as Robert Cox has been to show how social forces shape and reshape world orders over time, then the new political economy of scale also reveals how social forces do not simply operate within and across national state space, but also politicise space itself. The final part of the article reviews two sets of criticisms of the approach and concludes that, while it has been significant in challenging IPE scholars to reflect upon their spatial assumptions, its status as a critical alternative may well be compromised by its own foundational tenets. © 2010 The Author. Journal compilation © 2010 Political Studies Association.