~ 158 ~ WWJMRD 2018; 4(2): 158-162 www.wwjmrd.com International Journal Peer Reviewed Journal Refereed Journal Indexed Journal UGC Approved Journal Impact Factor MJIF: 4.25 E-ISSN: 2454-6615 Dr. Gaurav Sharma Assistant Professor in Political Science, DAV College, Amritsar Panjab, India Correspondence: Dr. Gaurav Sharma Assistant Professor in Political Science, DAV College, Amritsar Panjab, India Trends and Turbulence in the Emergence of Global Political Economy Dr. Gaurav Sharma Abstract Political economy, the close interplay of economic factors and political decisions, has emerged in over a period of time and has seen many ups and downs in its emergence. An ever increasing role of political economy has been the order of the day in this era of close cooperation and complex interdependence. The global political and economic environment was profoundly affected by the demise of the erstwhile USSR and subsequent end of Cold War. The issues of ‘low politics’ like welfare economy, equality-inequality and environmental sustainability got increased focus in the Post-Cold War Era in global politics alongside the already existing issues of ‘high politics’ like war and peace. The present research paper attempts to analyze the major trends and the turbulent phases in the emergence of the present day globalised political economy. These trends aptly explain the journey of the field of political economy from international to global in nature. The force behind this journey has been identified as the processes of intensified globalization. Keywords: Interdependence, Political Economy, Globalization, Bretton Woods, Liberalization, Trade, Tariffs. Introduction Politics and economics interact with each other in complicated ways and the contemporary world is a complicated place, characterized at all levels by elements of interdependence.1 The relative influence of politics and the market can change over time but both are forever linked; neither exists independent of the other The academic field which deals with this type of interaction is Political Economy. Political Economy seeks to explain how political power shapes economic outcomes and how economic forces constrain political action. 2 The impact of economic and political factors on each other has varied over time. At one time they exerted equal influence on each other and at another either of them dominated the other. Immediately after the end of World War II, economic factors dominated the political ones as more and more emphasis was on the reconstruction and development of the affected nations. In due course, security issues began to dominate international relations as the Cold War was a period of tension and struggle. But suddenly after the end of the Cold War, intensification of the process of economic globalization led to the dominance of economic factors over the military and security issues. The post-Cold War era is a period of tremendous growth and power. It was a period of greater trade liberalization and more industrialization. Then suddenly, in the period following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, once again security and military issues gained prominence along with issues concerning economic growth and development. The ‘modern world economy’ came into existence in the late fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. 3 In this era of mercantilism, power was equated with wealth, and wealth with power. Despite the striking extension of the global market during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the vast majority of commerce continued to be conducted within individual localities until the advent of the industrial revolution. In the long and painful process of forging a global political economy there are three events that stand out above all others. 4 The first is the European conquest of the Americas and the integration of that hemisphere into a worldwide economy. The second is the industrial revolution which World Wide Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Development