Module description
This module aims to provide an advanced introduction to global governance and the key international institutions that form the basis of global governance. It will give a detailed knowledge of the institutional landscape through which international political and economic interaction is mediated. The analysis is grounded in the theories of International Political Economy (IPE) / International Relations (which you are expected to be familiar with – if you have not covered these elsewhere you will need to catch up in advance).
Assessment details
Seminar participation (10%), 2-hour in-person exam (45%) & 2,350-word essay (45%)
Educational aims & objectives
This module aims to give the students an advanced introduction to global governance and the key international institutions that form the basis of global governance, leading to a thorough knowledge of the most important institutions. It will ground the analysis in the theories of International Political Economy (IPE) / International Relations, and the emergent literature on global governance as a particular approach in its own right.
The specific aims of the module are to:
- Build upon the IPE theory that they will have undertaken in other modules (e.g. Globalisation and International Trade; Issues in International Politics; World Politics).
- Give the students an advanced understanding of the ways in which these theoretical traditions analyse the nature of global governance.
- Enable the students to understand the range of actors that are engaged in global governance.
- Provide an historical background to the evolution of global governance.
- Enable the students to engage critically with the manner in which global politics and economic issues are governed within the state system.
- Understand contemporary challenges to existing governance structures from rising powers.
More generic academic aims are to:
- Encourage scholarly engagement with core literature in the field.
- Encourage students to use theory and empirical evidence critically to explain contemporary issues in globalisation and international trade.
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this course students will have:
- A sound understanding of the theoretical and methodological concepts related to the study of global governance.
- A detailed and in-depth knowledge of formative periods in the development of international economic governance.
- An advanced ability to analyse current issues in global governance in a theoretically informed and critical manner.
Teaching pattern
Indicative Lecture Schedule (which may be subject to change)
1. Theoretical approaches to global governance
2. The Origins of International Organisations: From the League of Nations to the UN
3. UN Security Council Reform
4. The UN and the use of Private Military Contractors
5. The governance of plastic pollution
6. The International Labour Organisation and the governance of labour
7. The International Criminal Court
8. Global Health Governance
9. Outer Space Governance
10. The IMF and global economic governance
Suggested reading list
Key Readings
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Harman, Sophie, and David Williams. (2013). Governing the World?: Cases in Global Governance. (Abingdon and New York: Routledge).
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Anthony Payne and Nicola Phillips, (2014), Handbook of the International Political Economy of Governance, (Edward Elgar)