Introduction

In 2009, Mark Blyth, the editor of the comprehensive and substantive first version of the Routledge Handbook of International Political Economy, defined it as not “a textbook” seeking to establish what International Political Economy (IPE) was, but a picture of a pluralist field that was flourishing internationally. In the first edition of the Handbook, Blyth opted to present a picture that extended the geographical scope of IPE to other global conversations in Asia and Latin America, although it remained mostly focused on Western directions. The second edition of the Routledge Handbook is about a Global Political Economy (GPE) as a tool for teaching, learning and research at postgraduate level. As a postgraduate instrument, the Handbook contains several foundational texts and will be enhanced by some prior knowledge concerning the debates and theories of IPE and GPE, especially concerning the comprehension and identification of the significant Western approaches and global discussions, and methodologies.