Overview

Global Political Economy at Radboud University trains you to see past the headlines of daily news and uncover the hidden structures that shape the organisation and governance of the global economy. You learn how wealth and power are distributed globally, and why economic crises can pose both threats and opportunities for change, leaving both winners and losers. We challenge you to not only understand and explain the dynamics of the global economy but also to analyse the status quo through the eyes of different players, from transnational corporations to grassroots organisations, while accounting for the institutional strongholds that enable or hinder them to pursue their strategies.

Future career opportunities

Alumni of the programme have all the analytical and strategic competences and skills that today’s employers seek, which makes them highly competitive for jobs such as: 

• Policy analyst in government ministries  or international organisations like the UN, World Bank, IMF
• Regulatory specialist and policy maker in central banks, financial market authorities, or trade commissions
• Research analyst or policy advisor at European Union organisations, like the European Parliament or the European Commission, or at national diplomatic services  

• Consultant a non-profit organisations, think tank or development agencies, or transnational corporations, banks or other financial institutions

Research

To give you a few examples of cutting-edge research questions you can explore in this specialisation:

• How are rising powers like China, India and Brazil reshaping global economic governance and challenging Western-dominated international organisations?
• What political forces drive the architecture of global trade and finance, from the WTO’s crisis to the rise of regional trade blocks and economic sanctions as geopolitical weapons?
• Why do some countries prosper while other remain trapped in poverty, and how do global economic structures perpetuate or challenge these inequalities?  
• How do climate and green transition policies redistribute power between countries, corporations and civil society?

Accreditation

This programme is accredited by the NVAO (the Dutch-Flemish accreditation organisation).