A concise and highly informative overview of the major intellectual debates within the field of political economy over the last decade. Each chapter provides a review of a key area written by a distinguished expert in the field. A comprehensive introduction locates these debates within the wider intellectual and political context which gave rise to them and provides some pointers to the future directions of political economy. Key areas covered include: models of capitalism globalization the environment gender territory and space regionalism development. This is essential reading for all students of political economy from distinguished contributors including: Anthony Payne, Colin Crouch, James Meadowcroft, V. Spike Peterson, Saskia Sassen, Björn Hettne and Adrian Leftwich.