ABSTRACT
The financial crisis that engulfed the global economy in 2007-2009 provides a dramatic example of not only the fragility of human-created systems but also the role that world view plays in human behaviour and perceptions. As an ‘interdiscipline,’ or transdisciplinary field of study (see Chapter 1) international political economy (IPE) provides the analyst with multiple perspectives that can be utilized to give a deeper, richer, and more comprehensive understanding of the complex phenomena involved in a global financial crisis. The crisis started in the United States, but it soon encompassed the entire world. It ‘spread via channels – commodities, currencies, investments, derivatives, and trade – to other countries. When it comes to financial crises, all the world’s a stage’ (Roubini and Mihm 2010: 270-71).
