Admission requirements
Open to students on the MSc Crisis and Security Management (ISGA) and the MA International Politics (IPS)
This course only offers a place to a maximum number of 10 students from CSM
Description
This course explores how major world-scale changes in contemporary society are governed – and could be governed. These global transformations include geopolitical shifts, ecological changes, technological innovations, pandemics, demographic trends, economic restructuring, reconfigured identities, and altered forms of violence and peacebuilding. The course considers who makes the rules to address such challenges, through what processes, and with what consequences. We also assess the legitimacy (both empirical and normative) of current arrangements for governing global transformations.
The first week surveys contemporary global transformations and the governance challenges that these developments pose. The second week reviews the many sites that formulate and implement measures to govern contemporary global transformations, including actors (both public and private) with global, regional, national and local jurisdictions. The third week examines how these actors operate in ‘polycentric’ institutional complexes that offer promises as well as problems. The fourth week focuses on practices of governing global transformations, looking more ethnographically at the objects, discourses, behaviours, and other routines within governing processes. The fifth week turns to the deeper structures that order the governance of global transformations, such as hegemonic states, capitalism, and social hierarchies of age, ethnicity/race, gender, and language. The sixth week looks at levels of legitimacy for existing arrangements to govern global transformations as well as the sources of such (il)legitimacy. The seventh week addresses explicitly normative questions of what constitutes ‘just’ governance of global transformations, considering criteria like democracy, effectiveness, fairness and sustainability. The eighth week is devoted to preparation of the individual essays.
Course Objectives
After completion of the course, the student is expected to be able:
Knowledge
to identify a full array of governance arrangements that address contemporary global transformations
to assess contending theories (explanatory as well as normative) regarding the governance of global transformations
Insight
to formulate and defend their own explanation of the governance of contemporary global transformations
to articulate and justify their own criteria for normative evaluation of governance arrangements for contemporary global transformations
Skills
to research independently a particular scenario of governing contemporary global transformations
to present a cogent analysis – interweaving both theory and evidence – of the governance of contemporary global transformations
to present such an analysis effectively both orally and in writing
Timetable
On the right side of programme front page of the e-Prospectus you will find links to the website and timetables, uSis and Brightspace.
Mode of Instruction
The course consists of seven lectures, class discussion, and working groups.
Attendance is mandatory. Students are only allowed to miss one session if there are special, demonstrable personal circumstances. The Board of Examiners, in consultation with the study advisors, will decide on such an exceptional exemption of mandatory attendance.
Total study load 140 hours:
21 contact hours
119 self-study hours: reading and other preparation for sessions, preparation of assignments
Assessment method
Class participation: 10% of final grade
Course can be compensated in case of a fail (grade < 5.50), resit not possible.
Group policy memo: 20% of final grade
Course can be compensated in case of a fail (grade < 5.50), resit not possible.
Individual essay: 70% of final grade
Grade cannot be compensated, a 5.50 is required to pass the course
The calculated grade of the assignments must be at least 5.50 in order to pass the course.
If a student passed an assignment, it is not possible to participate in a re-sit in order to obtain a higher grade. Students are only permitted to resit the 70% assignment if they have a calculated overall course lower than 5.50.
Reading list
To be announced on Brightspace.
Registration
Register for every course and workgroup via uSis.
Registration in uSis is possible from four weeks before the start of the course. Some courses and workgroups have a limited number of participants, so register on time (before the course starts). In uSis you can access your personal schedule and view your results.
Leiden University uses Brightspace as its online learning management system. Important information about the course is posted here.
After enrolment for the course in uSis you are also enrolled in the Brightspace environment of this course.
The corresponding Brightspace course will become available one week prior to the first seminar.
Contact
prof.dr. Jan Aart Scholte scholteja@vuw.leidenuniv.nl