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Global Governance and Civil Society

Vak
2012-2013

Description

Purpose: 1. To develop a better understanding of both the strengths and weaknesses of global governance and civil society. 2. To improve students’ research skills.

Content: Take a minute to think about some of the most vexing problems in the world today: environmental degradation, economic underdevelopment, war and insecurity. Whose responsibility is it to address these issues? There is certainly no single authority that can claim provenance over these concerns. The United States does not (in many cases, at least) pretend to have the answers. Not even the United Nations—the one organization bringing together representatives from virtually every corner of the planet—possesses the strength and mandate to tackle these concerns. To whom do we turn then? In our immensely complex and interconnected world, the answer is most likely to be: We can turn no one; instead, we must turn to many.

This is the basic starting point for studies of global governance and global civil society. In a time and place where few problems can be solved by any single person or entity, complex networks of actors—states, international organizations, multinational corporations, non-governmental organizations, transnational activists—and of rules, norms, and procedures arise to address these issues. This course will explore both the strengths and weaknesses of such networks. It will also examine difficult normative questions about our own roles and responsibilities in the practices of global governance and civil society.

Methods of Instruction

Class sessions will be primarily discussion-based, with some short lectures.

Study Material

TBA

Examination

Grades will be based on active participation in class discussion, short reading reflection papers, and a research design.

Schedule
Monday 4 Feb. till 25 March, 11.00 – 13.00 hrs in 1A012 (except 18 Feb in 5B16) and
Thursday 7 Feb. till 28 March, 11.00 – 13.00 hrs in SA31 (except 28 March in SA23)