This essay makes a case for integrating an international political economy (IPE) perspective into the field of labor studies to improve current theories of labor politics. I argue that viewing labor studies through an IPE lens means taking real structural barriers to collective action into account while also analyzing how labor is empowered, not just despite macroeconomic constraints, but also sometimes, paradoxically, by such constraints. I further argue that a combined IPE/labor studies approach offers insight into labor's potential for collective action, especially when one considers the politics of international trade and finance from a historical perspective.
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