Admission requirements
This course is part of the minor Global Affairs and is open to Political Science Students as an elective course.
To register for this course you need to be enrolled either in Usis for the minor Global Affairs or as an undergraduate student at the Institute of Political Science at Leiden University. There are 130 places open for students enrolled in the minor and 100 places for undergraduate students of Political science, on a first come first served basis.
This course is also open for inbound exchange students. Exchange students must be admitted by the FGGA International Office prior to the start of the minor; priority will be given to direct exchange partners of FGGA. For more information about the application procedure for exchange students, please contact the FGGA International Office
Description
This course critically examines how global problems are – and might be better – governed.
What rules and regulatory processes are currently ordering global affairs? What alternative
approaches to governing a global world might be available?
Contemporary society is heavily globalized, in the sense that people are deeply interconnected
across the planet. We see this globality in matters such as armed conflicts (e.g. worldwide
involvements in and consequences of war in Ukraine), digital technologies (e.g. the Internet),
ecological problems (e.g. climate change), economic instabilities (e.g. internationally
transmitted inflation), geopolitical shifts (e.g. a worldwide rise of China), humanitarian crises
(e.g. food insecurities), identity struggles (e.g. transborder LGBTQ+ movements), pandemics
(e.g. Covid-19), and social inequalities (e.g. global wealth divides). All such problems, and
more, are substantially planetary in scope.
Governing global-scale developments (such as AI, biodiversity loss, Islamophobia, etc.) is one
of today’s greatest political and societal challenges. How can we craft suitable rules and
regulatory processes that can shape and direct global connections in positive directions? This
course introduces students to the measures, actors, networks, structures, and ideologies that
currently govern – and might in future differently govern – the globe.
The first week of the course addresses globality: the condition of people being interconnected
on a planetary scale. We cover the manifestations, history, and drivers of globalization. The
second week reviews the challenges that globality poses in contemporary society: for cultural
identity, democracy, distributive justice, ecological integrity, economic welfare, liberty, peace,
and solidarity. The third week considers the variety of actors (both governmental and
nongovernmental) that do the governing of global affairs. The fourth week examines how
these multiple state and nonstate actors combine in polycentric networks of governing that
raise major issues of democracy, effectiveness, fairness, peace, and sustainability. The fifth
week looks beyond actors to the practices and underlying orders that structure the
governance of global problems. The sixth week explores the legitimacy of current global
governance, from both empirical and normative perspectives: how far do existing
arrangements have ‘the right to rule’? The seventh week assesses contending policy
frameworks that are available to govern a global world. We assess the possible promises and
pitfalls of each ideological approach, hopefully leaving students more empowered to make
their own choices about desirable global futures.
Course objectives
After completion of the course, students are expected to be able:
Knowledge
to describe the global qualities of contemporary society and its governance
to identify the actors and networks that participate in governing global connections
to recognise practices and underlying orders that structure global politics
Insight
to appreciate the complex dynamics through which global issues are governed
to reflect on the legitimacy (or otherwise) of arrangements for governing a global world
to assess the potential promises and pitfalls of various ideological approaches to global policy
Skills
to understand academic writings and lectures about governing a global world
to participate in probing discussions of global challenges and their governance
to communicate effectively in both speech and writing about governing a global world
Timetable
On the right side of programme front page of the studyguide you will find links to the website and timetables, uSis and Brightspace.
Mode of instruction
7 lectures of 3 hours
The total study load for this course is 140 hours, consisting of:
21 hours for attending lectures
119 hours studying the compulsory literature and working on assignments
Participation in lectures, discussions and exercises is required in order to obtain a grade. One lecture may be missed. Being absent more than once without acceptable cause may likely lead to expulsion from the course
Assessment method
Midterm assignment
25% of total grade
Re-sit not possible
Grade must be compensated
Final assignment
75% of total grade
Grade must be 5.50 or higher to pass the course
Re-sit possible
Re-sit will take the same form
Students will also be permitted to re-sit the final if they have a calculated overall course grade lower than 5.50 or with permission of the Board of Examiners. There is no re-sit for the mid-term, which needs to be compensated.
Late hand in penalty: 0,5 minus per day, and after seven days we do not accept papers any longer.
The Course and Examination Regulation of Security Studies and the Rules and Regulation of the Board of Examiners of the Institute of Security and Global Affairs apply.
Reading list
The reading list will be added on Brightspace.
Registration
Registration via MyStudymap or uSis is possible from 9 July after registration for the entire minor. Register for every course via MyStudymap or uSis. Some courses of the minor have a limited number of participants, so register on time.
Leiden University uses Brightspace as its online learning management system. After enrolment for the course in MyStudymap you will be automatically enrolled in the Brightspace environment of this course.
More information on registration via MyStudymap can be found on this page.
Please note: guest-/contract-/exchange students do not register via MyStudymap but via uSis.
Contact
globalaffairs@fgga.leidenuniv.nl
Remarks
All sessions will be in English.
Essays need to be written in English.
This course takes place in The Hague.
Please note that the re-sits of this minor will be organised in January.