74638 - Globalization, States and Markets

Learning outcomes

The course explores the mutual influences between international politics and international economic dynamics. In particular, it will discuss the relationship between economic globalization, democracy, global and regional governance. At the end of the course, students will be able to analyse and discuss issues such as: What are its political pre-preconditions for globalization? What are the main economic and political ideas that have shaped current wave globalization? What are the main economic and political effects of globalization at the domestic and international level? What are the main challenges for the current global economic order?

Course contents

This course investigates how globalization transforms the role of states, the configuration of markets, and the dynamics of political and economic power. Drawing from comparative political economy and economic sociology, students will explore key debates on capitalism, governance, inequality, and social change in a globalized world. The course blends theoretical foundations with critical discussion and contemporary case studies.

Lectures (8 sessions) provide the analytical and theoretical groundwork. Topics include:

• Capitalism, Classical Political Economy and Economic Sociology
• New Boundaries between Economics and Sociology
• Globalization and the Diversity of Capitalisms

A complete reading list and calendar will be distributed at the start of the course.

Seminars (12 sessions) enable active engagement, group presentations, and analytical discussion. Students will be divided into working groups.

• S1: Globalization and Global Inequality
• S2: Globalization, Spatial Inequalities, and Populism
• S3: Globalization, Migrations, and Demographic Change
• S4: Globalization and Digital Capitalism
• S5: Globalization and the Future of Labour
• S6: Globalization and Environmental Sustainability

Readings/Bibliography

Students are required to read the assigned materials before each session. Active and informed participation during seminars is essential.

A detailed reading list for each lecture and seminar will be shared at the beginning of the course.

Core Handbooks - These texts provide essential conceptual foundations and are required throughout the course:

• Trigilia C., Economic Sociology, Blackwell, 2002, pp. 1-35,119-134; 237-255
• Menz, Georg, Comparative Political Economy, Oxford, 2017; online edn, Oxford Academic, 23 Nov. 2017). chapters 1, 2, 3 7.

Supplementary Readings - These readings will complement the core handbooks and offer diverse perspectives on globalization, states, markets, and social change:

• Clift, B., & Woll, C. (2012). Economic patriotism: reinventing control over open markets. Journal of European Public Policy, 19(3), 307–323. Availabel at: https://doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2011.638117
• Melinda Mills, Globalization and Inequality, European Sociological Review, Volume 25, Issue 1, February 2009, Pages 1–8, https://doi-org.ezproxy.unibo.it/10.1093/esr/jcn046
• Riain, S. O. (2000). States and Markets in an Era of Globalization. Annual review of sociology, 26(1), 187-213.
• Swank, Duane, 'Globalization', in Daniel Béland, and others (eds), The Oxford Handbook of the Welfare State, 2nd edn, Oxford Handbooks (2021; online edn, Oxford Academic, 8 Dec. 2021), https://doi-org.ezproxy.unibo.it/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198828389.013.25 .
• Ferragina, E. (2025). The ‘two lives’ of Esping-Andersen and the revival of a research programme: Gender equality, employment and redistribution in contemporary social policy. Social Policy & Administration, 59(1), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1111/spol.13029
• Yoav Roll, Moshe Semyonov, Hadas Mandel, (2025). Gendered globalization: The relationship between globalization and gender gaps in employment and occupational opportunities, Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, Vol. 92, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rssm.2024.100930
• Milanovic, B. (2012). Global inequality: from class to location, from proletarians to migrants. Global Policy, 3(2), 125-134. Avalable: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1758- 5899.2012.00170.x?casa_token=2QVAPEQc88cAAAAA%3AVKRB5aaTMcq6PoPiu5t2lilhy3bjVgQ OHsH6VTa686-to--XRBf3awD-3KOzhPnDWdqdUaPfpD0J3lY

All assigned readings will be made available through the Virtuale page of the Course or accessible via institutional databases.

Teaching methods

Frontal lectures

Group discussions and debates in seminars

Assessment methods

- 55% – Seminar presentations
- 35% – Active participation
- 10% – Final oral exam

Teaching tools

The slides and supplementary readings will be available on https://virtuale.unibo.it/

Office hours

See the website of Rossella Bozzon