International Politics

Introduction

The world is changing at an increasingly rapid pace. Global value chains and cross-national sustainability challenges create a need for effective international co-operation. But the framework for such co-operation is under pressure, as exemplified by trade wars, a dysfunctional WTO, weak funding of the WHO, and Britain’s recent exit from the EU. The business community needs to manoeuvre in this complex field. This course therefore aims to gives the students a possibility to make sense of current developments in international affairs.

The course focuses on the processes of globalisation that drive change in international regimes for sustainability, security, sovereignty, democracy, and trade. It starts from problems with collective action to address cross-national challenges and create international public goods, and investigates existing institutional and public policy responses to such problems, addressing their strengths and shortcomings. It addresses international developments since the end of the Cold War, with the goal of seeing current events in context. It uses theories of international relations and international political economy. It is an introductory course and requires no previous knowledge of the subject.

Course content

1. Stability and change in international relations since the end of the Cold War, and International Relations theory
2. International public goods and the democratic challenge: institution-building as response to need for collective action
3. Globalisation, geopolitics and geo-economics
4. International trade, free trade and development; international regulatory regimes
5. The sustainability challenge
6. Global and regional governance; the EU, security policy and international trade