The Value of Critique

Abstract

A Critical Rewriting of Global Political Economy: Integrating Reproductive, Productive and Virtual Economies. By V. Spike Peterson. London: Routledge, 2003. 256 pp., $124.95 cloth (ISBN: 0-415-31438-0), $24.95 paper (ISBN: 0-415-31439-9). A Critical Rewriting of Global Political Economy , Spike Peterson's ambitious new book, is a unique and valuable contribution to at least three key areas of research: international relations, international political economy, and feminist and critical studies. The book is cogently written, with sophisticated and clear explanations of Peterson's theoretical approaches and methodological choices. Indeed, her second chapter is a cogent explanation of how and why theoretical approaches and methodological choices are mutually implicated, and of the implications for scholarship and knowledge that follow from these decisions. As Peterson straightforwardly states, “what we study and make claims about” is linked to epistemological differences regarding “how we study and what we claim is real or true” (p. 22). Consequently, every chapter situates her argument within an informed description of the relevant scholarship and provides a lucid summary of the implications of her work both for that scholarship and for understanding the global political economy. These are not easy tasks, given that Peterson draws from a multidisciplinary array of work in international/global political economy, postcolonial studies, feminist economics, as well as feminist and critical studies. Importantly, her command of literatures beyond that of international relations provides an effective introduction …