Dear friends, another year is almost done. However, I wish to thank all of you for your continued patronage of the IPE Zone as it's still a going enterprise that will soon celebrate its third year of existence. I never imagined that it would become Google's highest-ranked website for the search term "international political economy" after the Wikipedia entries (at least in my parts of the world). Originally, my ambition was a more modest ones of putting extra course material online for my students. However, it's kept going even after I completed my PhD at the University of Birmingham and headed to the London School of Economics and Political Science given--you guessed it--your continued patronage. 2010 promises to be another eventful year as we observe how climate change negotiations evolve. Unfortunately, I have not been able to post on the subject as much as I would like to (and my Internet connectivity remains an issue.) To motivate myself, I promise an extensive post on the Copenhagen conference and beyond. This topic is a very important one for IPE watchers since it demonstrates changes in the balance of power in global governance (towards major LDCs) and says a lot about the prospects for collective action...after American hegemony, as someone would say. As always, I intend to provide public goods by covering important current events others perhaps miss while pulling no punches. Believe me, there is far more out there of interest than I can possibly write about. May things ever remain so.
Please accept my apologies for the late posting on Copenhagen as there is still general bewilderment about what took place. For now, read about how the most powerful unelected official in Europe is setting out to change the face of higher education. The UK and US usually set trends for the rest of the world, so these changes are worth noting--especially for those of involved in academia: instructors, researchers, administrators, students, and parents.
A Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year to one and all! Alas, give my outlook for 2010, we are going to need it.
