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Introduction
Within International Political Economy (IPE), researchers have been devoted to discussions of the internationalisation of finance, foreign direct investment and currency fluctuations; and methodologies are often focussed on econometrics, supply and demand-chain statistics, and related quantitative methods. But alongside mainstream research, critical transnationalised IPE should become committed to understanding how, in the context of crisis, the collapse of neoliberal banking and corporate systems and restructuring of labour markets affects people. New struggles for the hegemony of ideas and subjectivites are impacting the way in which we live and work. In response to the onslaught of mainstream theory, areas of research conducted and orthodox methodologies in IPE, this article intends to contribute to the emerging area of critical IPE through revealing what is at stake for people in the neo-capitalist, neoliberal markets and the economic recession that plagues our current world.
The emergence of IPE as a genuine rival to the dominant position that International Relations (IR) has taken with its orthodox views on realism and general emphasis on the study of security is seen with the rise of the British school of IPE. What differentiates the British school from the American school is the emphasis on qualitative versus quantitative research, respectively (Cohen, 2008, pp. 16-65). In general, the British school is more sympathetic to research that is not dedicated to orthodox views or uncritical readings of finance and banking.
Critical theorists in the British school of IPE have been highly prolific in recent years and adept in introducing research on a wide range of contemporary issues in the global political economy. Examples of these interventions include Ian Bruff on historical materialism and IPE, varieties of capitalism, Nicolas Poulantzas and open Marxism (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012); Chris Clarke's work on the moral individual in market relations that encourages a more sociological approach within IPE (2010); Charles Dannreuther, who uses regulation theory and the theories of varieties of capitalism to understand the small and medium enterprise (SME) (2007); Matt Davies' investigations on everyday life in the global political economy, and work (Davies, 2005, 2006, 2009a; Davies and Ryner, 2006); Paul Lewis on the politics of financial crisis and triadisation in global markets (2006); Johnna Montgomerie's critical look at indebtedness and American financialisation (2006a, 2006b, 2008, 2009);...