Political Science

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

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Module Code: POU33194

Module Name: Politics and Markets 2025-26

ECTS Weighting: 5
Semester/Term Taught: Semester 2
Contact Hours: TBC
Module Personnel: Jiwon Baik

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, students will be able to grasp the distinct logics that shape political and economic organization in capitalist systems. They will also be equipped to think critically and theoretically about how different societies respond to key policy challenges, and to draw comparative insights.

Module Learning Aims

This course explores how political power shapes, and is shaped by, patterns of economic exchange in contemporary market economies. We’ll look at how different political and economic systems interact, and how institutions—whether formal or informal—constrain and enable policymaking in capitalist contexts. A central focus will be on how governments respond to the pressures of industrial and technological change, and how these responses reflect broader goals of development, stability, and national strategy.

We’ll cover a range of topics including property rights, industrial policy, health care, agriculture, globalization, migration, digital regulation, and climate change. Drawing on examples from both advanced and developing economies since the postwar period, the course takes a comparative approach to understanding how states structure markets, manage crises, and pursue long-term economic goals in an increasingly interconnected world.