Marxism's Tools for Contemporary International Relations

After the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War between the Western Bloc and Eastern Bloc, the enduring ideological conflict between communism and capitalism was seen to come to an end. The global order has since entered into a neo-liberal capitalist era, with neo-liberal ideologies characterizing the various dimensions of the global order, such as international politics and economics. As the world is homogenizing into neo-liberal capitalist orders, the rich substances of the Marxist school on international relations seem rather distanced. However, this essay will argue the contrary. It seeks to justify that, instead of being irrelevant under the contemporary international relations, Marxism offer vital tools to contest the hegemony of capitalism through critical lenses. This essay is divided into two parts. The first part demonstrates an increasingly globalized capitalist world economy and the respective problems embedded in the system. Then, the second part of the essay will discuss the views of Marxism related to the identified issues under the globalizing capitalist world economy, as well as some comments on the future of Marxism in terms of the studies of international relations.

A Globalizing Economy under Capitalism

Citizens around the world are living closer to each other than ever. Enabled by technological advancements and various policy evolutions, including reduction of trade barriers and policies that increase the mobility of capitals, the global economy is becoming more unified than ever. Under this capitalist world economy, economic activities and relations of production rise above environmental and political boundaries. For example, many developing countries, such as Mexico, become part of the g...

... middle of paper ...

...nal relations. It begins with the outlining of some of converging phenomenon and patterns of the current globalizing capitalist world economy and some of the problems associated with, such as economic exploitation and the hegemony of capitalist neo-liberal agenda. To understand these developments, Marxism provides critical tools explain the emergence of these issues. In relation to the hegemony of capitalism, Marxist theorist Gramsci and Cox have written phenomenal works on explaining how the hegemony is keeping the capitalist system in order, while serving its interests. Marxism on the uneven power in a relation of production can also be reflected on the global stage, explaining the economic exploitation between the core and peripheral countries and the hegemonic capitalist neo-liberal agenda as forms of capitalist imperialism in the global production relation.