Why do states cooperate? The seminar engages with one of the central questions to theories of International Relations and International Political Economy. Revisiting four phases of world history, the course will delve into dynamics of power, interests, and institutions underlying cooperation among sovereign states. The first part of the seminar is dedicated to the post-WWII era until the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989. During this time, the world was split into two power blocks. The international monetary system saw the end of the Bretton Woods system and the onset of cross-border financial integration. What where implications of this bipolar world order? And what policy choices underlay the end of Bretton Woods and the beginning of modern globalization? The second part addresses the unipolar moment after the dissociation of the Soviet Union until the global financial crisis of 2007-09. With financial and economic globalization championed by Western economies reaching unparalleled heights, this phase ended in a devastating crash at the heart of the system. What was the alleged ‘End of History’? Moreover, how did unfettered markets nearly overpower the international institutional system? The third part engages with the post-crisis years of 2009-2016. Unprecedented collaboration of the world’s major powers in crisis-prevention measures prevented the collapse of the economic system while providing evidence of an increasingly multipolar world. Over the years, as multipolarity consolidated, multilateral collaboration diminished. Why did countries’ interests converge on supporting the open international economy in a critical moment? What to make of the increasing number of institutional alternatives at the international level? The fourth part assesses indications of an emerging multipolar world ‘disorder’ in the wake of Brexit and the United States Presidential elections of late 2016. The seminar closes with a view on the European Union, noting growing uncertainty while stressing avenues for future international cooperation. Against the backdrop of episodes of world history, the seminar engages with the theoretical canon of international cooperation and explanations for cooperation – or failure of cooperation, that is. The empirical analysis will draw on examples taken from securities studies, economic cooperation, and financial regulation.”