First year
Year BA1 semester 2: Honours FGGA
In the first semester of Honours FGGA you will have to choose between three all designed to improve your personal skills or scientific insights. Negotiations Lab will be repeated in BA2/1. The Honours coordinator will take care of the selection process and of enrollment on Brightspace and in USIS.
BA1/2 Negotiations LAB by dr. Wolf Steinel and Jaelah van Tol (30 places)
Changes in society, the global economy, and ways people work have made negotiating skills more important than ever. The challenges are legion: dealing with history’s most diverse work force, doing business with customers who tell you how to run your business, negotiating with foreign counterparts—and more. These are not just issues of corporate concern; they are also of increasing importance to your personal success.
By participating in this course you will come to recognise the pervasiveness and importance of negotiation. You will acquire a new repertoire of negotiating skills in a variety of different conflict settings. You will develop a systematic and positive approach to negotiating with colleagues, bosses, clients, other stakeholders, and external groups of all kinds—in ways that equip you to deal also with all kinds of conditions and circumstances.
This is an interactive course based on the idea that becoming skilled at negotiation is best achieved through practising it. Therefore this course contains simulation games and negotiation exercises where you can practice your negotiation and leadership skills in a safe environment on your fellow students. The exercises will be combined with reflection, discussion, readings, assignments and presentations to connect theory and practice and enhance the overall learning.
Course objectives
develop the sophistication to analyse bargaining and conflict relationships
to learn (through class discussion, peer feedback and self-assessment) about your own individual conflict management style;
gain advanced knowledge and insights about negotiation and related organisational behaviour and apply this theoretical knowledge to challenges in the real world;
prepare effectively for negotiation;
understand when to negotiate, and when not to negotiate, when to reach a deal and when to walk away;
negotiate effectively in teams or with multiple opponents;
apply multiple approaches to resolving unproductive negotiations;
understand how to create value and reach mutually beneficial agreements;
and to increase your confidence in your negotiation skills
**Schedule BA1 semester 2:
Wednesdays from 19.15-22.00 uur: March 4 and 11; April 1, 8 and 15; May 6 and 20. Written exam Wednesday May 13 from 19.30 - 21.00 **
BA1/2 Governing Science, Society and Expertise by professor Hsini Huang (30 places)
This course introduces students to the sometimes tense relationship between politics, society and experts. The class shows the different ways in which problems and issues in society, business and politics are identified, how they can be addressed, and how students may orient themselves on advising on such problems and issues in their future career. Throughout the course students are made aware of scientific ‘lenses’ on reality to get a sharp analytical view on problems and issues, and what it means when we speak about ‘innovation’ in science and research for addressing problems in the real world. The course will further include a simulation game to experience the interplay of government, research, non-governmental stakeholders and society.
Course objectives
The goal of the course is to get a sense of how politics, science and society are connected regarding today’s global challenges and what role expertise, money and power can play in these dynamics. The course introduces students to a variety of lenses and enhances critical and analytical thinking with tools from different disciplines. These skills will be put to use during the simulation game at the end of the course.
Honours Academy skills: analyses, problem-solving, cooperation, oral and written communication, and reflection
Schedule BA1 semester 2:
Friday from 14.15-16.00: March 20; April 10 and 24; May 1, 8 and 22.
BA1/2 Crucial Skills 2 by Jacob Koolstra/School of LIFE (25 places)
“Learning without reflection is a waste. Reflection without learning is dangerous.” - Confucius
In this highly interactive course we will study some of the most relevant skills for professionals in the 21st century. This course presumes that professionals with high emotional intelligence and self-awareness are the bound to become leaders of the next decades. Your Consciousness on social, societal, individual and environmental levels will be enlarged through this course.
Some profound differences between university and professional life that we will tap into:
You will have to work intensively together with people you don’t know well.
You will have to present yourself and your results all the time.
You will have to be ready to negotiate for yourself and your organisation.
Nobody is responsible for your own development and well-being but you.
You will never have a clear idea how to get a good grade, since nobody is grading you and there are no assessment guidelines.
You will always be uncertain about the relevance and impact of your projects and task
Learning in this course is done by a combination of practising and reflection called experiental learning.
The course will be taught by Wicher Schols, you and all your fellow students. Each theme will partly be covered by Wicher and partly by teaching groups existing of students that are guided by Wicher.
After the lecture the teaching groups will get adequate and constructive feedback from their audience.
Course objectives
Practice a growth mindset by identifying continuous potential for personal development
Examine core values and identify a personal mission statement
Recognize the way that communication and presentation are mutually inclusive
Apply personal and theoretical reflection in writing
Practice how to generate new perspectives on conventional wisdom to discover possibilities, creative thinking
Connect traditional to new notions of (entrepreneurial) value
Schedule BA1/semester 2:
Friday 13.15-16.00 on March 6 and 20; April 10 and 17; May 1, 8 and 22.
Second year
Year BA2 semester 1: Honours FGGA
In this second year of TGC you will continue developing your skills and insights. You will have to gain 10 EC by TGC courses and 5 EC by taking a mandatory Honours Class.
In the first semester and second semester you can choose between four GGA courses, two of them also possible as Honours Class (distributed by the Honours Academy). The Honours coordinator will ask you to select one of the courses and takes care of enrollment on BS and in USIS.
The Honours Classes are distributed by the Honours Academy and you will receive an information and application e-mail halfway August for semester 1 and halfway November for semester 2. The HA will take care of enrollment of your Honours Classes in BS and USIS.
BA2/1 Negotiations LAB Dr. Wolf Steinel (see description BA1) (30 places)
See description BA1/2.
**Schedule BA2 semester 1 block 1 and 2:
Wednesday from 19.15-22.00: September 10 and 17; October 8 and 29; November 12 and 26: December 10.
Written Exam from 19.30-21.00: December 3. **
BA2/1 The Architecture of Good Government: Comparing Institutions Across Countries,
Dr. Suzuki Kohei (30 places)
Why does Sweden consistently rank among the least corrupt countries in the world, while other nations struggle with endemic corruption? Why are some governments more efficient and effective than others? What makes a "good government," and can successful governance models be transferred between different cultural contexts?
This course investigates these fundamental questions by exploring the institutional foundations of effective governance from a global comparative perspective. Drawing on cutting-edge research and contemporary cases, students will examine how different countries structure their government institutions and how these choices affect corruption levels, efficiency, public service delivery, and citizen trust.
The course provides a unique opportunity for students to apply comparative frameworks to real-world governance challenges across Europe and beyond. We'll analyze the striking contrasts between different governance systems worldwide and investigate the institutional foundations that contribute to government success or failure. Recent efficiency-focused reforms seen in various countries around the world prompt a critical question we'll examine throughout the course: Is making government more efficient always a good thing? We'll explore the potential trade-offs between efficiency and other important values like accountability, equity, and expertise.
Through engaging discussions, comparative analysis, and examination of real-world cases, students will gain insights that go beyond typical political debates to understand the fundamental building blocks of effective governance. The course emphasizes both analytical understanding and the development of communication skills through structured debates and presentations on governance challenges.
No prior background in political science or public administration is required - just curiosity about why some governments work better than others and what that means for citizens around the world.
Course-objectives
Explain why government performance and efficiency vary dramatically between different countries
Identify key factors that contribute to reducing corruption and improving public services
Analyze how institutional design affects outcomes that matter to citizens
Critically evaluate whether making government more efficient is always desirable and understand potential trade-offs with other values
Question assumptions about what constitutes "good government" in different contexts
Schedule semester 1 block 1
Friday from 13.15-15.00: September 5, 12, 19, 26. October 10, 17 and 31
BA2/1 A Better World is Possible, Dr. Joachim Koops (30 places)
This course challenges and encourages outstanding honours students to study, analyse and evaluate the most pressing issues and problems of human security and global justice in both theory and practice. Taking the United Nations Development Report of 1994 (which mentioned the term ‘human security’ for the first time) and the Report of the Committee on Global Governance of 1995 (conceptualising the challenges of global governance) as starting points, students will examine and assess lessons from previous failed and (partially) successful attempts of predicting and addressing local and global security problems and will apply these lessons to persisting current and future challenges.
Themes to be covered range from threats to individual freedoms and human rights to war, peace, geopolitical transformations as well as traditional and non-traditional challenges (such as arms proliferation, peacekeeping and peacebuilding, poverty and development, climate change and ocean governance, cybersecurity and hybrid threats, global health and pandemic management) to global security and global governance.
Students will closely interact with major experts, diplomats, policy-makers and senior officials from international organisations and NGOs as well as with social entrepreneurs, in order to devise their own actionable, pragmatic but at the same time innovative solutions and scenarios for the future of human and global security governance. Whilst analysing core concepts, theories, risk analysis and scenario planning tools during lectures and blended learning sessions, students will also form and work in their own “think tank” groups of up to 4 students in order to create and advance their policy proposals.
Students with outstanding proposals will receive the opportunity of publishing their work at ISGA’s Security and Global Affairs blog and with cooperating international think tank partners. The organisation of a public student-led “Better World is Possible” Conference with dialogue partners and experts is part of the programme and rounds off the course.
Course-objectives
The ability to explain, analyse and synthesize core concepts and issues related to the themes of ‘human security’, ‘global governance’ and global security from a multi-level perspective (i.e. individual, local, national, regional, global)
The ability to analyse the main international organisations, institutions and capacities created at different levels to address major issues of human and global security, to identify and explain their weaknesses and needs for improvement
The ability to explain and apply basic methods of risk analysis and scenario planning in order to predict future human security and global affairs threats
The capacity to analyse and apply insights from social entrepreneurs, diplomats and policy-makers
The ability to synthesize core insights from the literature, scenario analyses and exchanges with guest speakers and external events in order to apply them to devising actionable policy innovations
The ability to cooperate effectively in teams
**Schedule BA2 semester 1, block 1 and 2
Mondays from 17.30-19.30 on September 8 and 22; October 6 and 27, November 10 and 24. **
YEAR BA2 semester 2: Honours FGGA
BA2/2 International Relations: on diplomacy and negotiations by dr. Paul Meerts (20 students GGA and 45 students Honours Class)
The course is extensive, however the rational is simple. Negotiation is a skill which needs to be practiced. Therefore, students will actively engage with the theoretical material in several ways, through exercises, simulations, case studies and video reviews.
During the first session students get an introduction to the course, during the course important relevant skills besides negotiation (such as public speaking) will also be covered. Each year the simulation and subject of the Young Diplomat Conference changes, ensuring that the subjects discussed are socially relevant issues fitting the context of current developments.
Each seminar will high light certain aspects of international negotiation and as students progress the exercises during the seminars will become more complex and challenging. As they learn about the theoretical aspects on international negotiation, they apply it directly and train their skills during the exercises.
During the final weekend students will partake in the Young Diplomat Conference. Here students will have to apply the skills and knowledge they have gained throughout the course in a two day simulation. Each body will have a professional from the Young Diplomat to make observations about the performance of the students which will serve as input to the reflection. During the course students will need to do research on the position of their actor (through desk research). The position statements will be distributed among all other participants. Students will have to submit a final position statement with a negotiation strategy as part of their final assignment.
Program:
Week 1 of the Course:
7th of February 13.15 – 17.30
Session I of the seminar: introduction to International Negotiation and Bilateral Bargaining. An introductory lecture on the topic of international negotiation will give you an overview of the important elements of the subject. This is followed by exercises on distributive and integrative bargaining to better understand their impact on international political negotiation. The day will be end focussing on effectiveness and emotion in negotiation.
Week 2 of the Course:
14th of February 13.15 – 17.30
Session II of the seminar: This session will focus on mediation and multilevel negotiation. Mediation is a crucial means to reaching peaceful and agreed solutions in today’s world – on an international, political, industrial, peace-keeping or social level. However, mediating can be challenging and requires particular skills. The start of the class will focus on the introduction of the exercise, will let you prepare your position and approach and allow for some lobbying with the different parties. During the rest of the session you will be working on the negotiations followed by an extensive debriefing.
Week 3 of the Course:
21st of February 13.15 – 17.30
Session III of the seminar: Case study on negotiation and Minilateral Bargaining. In this session, the process of negotiation between more than two parties and the impact of internal and external processes will be studied and practised. You will get a better understanding of the options for win/win solutions, hampered by elements like trust, entrapment, power and interest imbalances, the differences in character and effectiveness of the actors involved and the (non-)chemistry between them. You will get more insights into the tensions between competition and cooperation. The session will start with a discussion of the Pacific Oil Case, this will give insights into a real life situation of negotiation and the different behaviours of people. Later on in the afternoon there will be a negotiation between five member states of the European Union concerning a crisis in the Mediterranean.
Week 4 of the Course:
28th of February 13.15 – 17.30
Session IV of the seminar: Strategy and Tactics. The session will focus on the strategy and tactics which are used within negotiations and international political conferences. It will give you a better understanding of the different strategies in negotiation and how to apply them. A closer look will be taken on Russia’s grand strategy on international affairs and how this influences the negotiations they take part in. A discussion on tactics will help you to understand how to use them in relation to strategies and their effects. The session will include an exercise emphasising the two level game. In the evaluation and discussion the focus will be on evaluating the approaches taken in the exercise in relation to the theory discussed and delving deeper into the two level game.
Week 5 of the Course:
7th of March 13.15 – 17.30
Session V of the seminar: public speaking and speech writing. As diplomat being able to speak publically in a confident and comfortable way is an important skill. This session will focus on training and practicing with the skill set necessary for public speaking. Furthermore, a crash course in speech writing will ensure students are prepared for making an opening statement during the final simulation.
Week 6 of the Course:
14th of March 13.15 – 17.30
Session VI of the seminar: Chairing & Preparing for the final simulation. In this session, you will come to better understand the position of the chair or president of a negotiation. We will delve deeper into the traits that are need and how you can influence negotiations from these positions. After the break time is allocated to further prepare for the final simulation. The team of the Young Diplomat will take time to help students familiarise themselves with the rules of procedure and support the chairs in their preparation.
Week 7 of the Course:
21st of March 10.30 – 17.30:
The first day of the Young Diplomat Conference. During the conference, you will represent a country or actor in an international body. Some actors will be represented in all bodies, while others will not. In all situations, you will have to coordinate your actions and approach across the bodies. If you have no representation in one or two of the other bodies, you will have to work with allies to ensure your interests are served.
19.00 – 22.00:
Dinner an event location in the Hague. The dinner serves several purposes 1) during dinner, as during real life negotiation and diplomatic conferences lobbying continues and deals are struck; 2) an introductory course on etiquette will be provided; 3) this is the final weekend of the course, a moment for students to bond and build connections among each other.
22nd of March 10.30 – 14.30:
After a first day at the conference, you are expected to come to an outcome with either a statement or resolution.
15.30 – 17.00:
After the conference has concluded a break is taken. During the first part of the reflection each body will reflect, with the Young Diplomat professional, on their performance. After this reflection the group will come together, review the outcome of the conference and in general reflect on the performance across the different bodies.
During the weeks the students will engage in the following visits. The exact moments depend on the availability of the institutions.
A visit will be made to the International Criminal Court in the Hague where students will receive a guided tour and presentation on the workings of the court. The International Criminal Court is the only international tribunal which can rule on international crimes based on the Rome statute. This visit will high light the importance of the court in international relations and politics and what the consequences are in relation to which states are and are not signatory to the Rome statute.
A visit to the OPCW will be organised to better understand the goal and functioning of the organisation within the UN framework and offer students a chance to ask questions.
Course-objectives
Formulate a perspective on threats and opportunities for the European Union.
Develop a policy advice on a current issue in relation to the developments within or outside the European Union.
Analyse the functioning of the European Union.
Analyse current affairs and issues within the European Union and external which have an impact on it.
Explain the major milestones and developments within the European Union.
Create a personal perspective on current and ongoing issues within and about the future of the EU.
**Schedule BA2 semester 2 block 3:
Saturday from 13.15-17.30: February 7, 14, 21, 28 feb; March 7 and 14 mrt
Saturday and Sunday from 10.30-17.30: March 21 and 22. **
BA2/2 and BA3/2 Data Governance and policymaking by Matthew Young (30 places for 2e and 3e years)
This course is designed to teach students about the most important and controversial Big Data applications currently being used in the public sector. The course has a practical and utilitarian component, which is to introduce students to what these applications are. It also has an analytical component, which is to learn and apply critical thinking towards such applications using findings from scholarly literature and public discussion about real cases.
On the first component, it will address questions of how the technologies work and why governments use them. For example, students will be introduced to the basic working principles of predictive policing, fraud detection, and smart public installations such as lighting and traffic systems. These are each different in important ways and there are different technical and social consequences. Students will learn about key technology ‘affordances’ and frameworks that can help know what to highlight and be critical of.
A second component will involve learning about real world cases and the arguments and evidence available from academic research. This component will pose questions such as what ethical issues arise from use of the technologies, whether robots will decide all the important matters that affect our lives, and whether there is anything that governments and citizens can do to use technologies to make government better. For example, we may review and discuss cases of Google’s failed smart city project in Toronto, the Dutch fall-out from the ‘Toeslagenaffaire’, or Rio de Janeiro’s policing of favelas. The global spread of big data technologies will be used as an opportunity to learn about a wide variety of countries and cities.
Students will learn to navigate the complex technical and ethical issues and put forward their own arguments through discussion and debate. Together, these skills and knowledge will help students to critically assess these tools and to become more expert both as critical users of technologies and as systems architects.
Course-objectives
Describe examples of different kinds of Big Data applications in public services
Debate the public values pros and cons of artificial intelligence in the public sector using real world examples and academic literature
Carry out a research project that critically evaluates an algorithmic decision-making system from the perspective of protecting and improving public values.
**Schedule BA2 and BA 3 semester 2, block 3:
ONLINE Thursday evenings from 19.00-20.45: February 5, 12, 19 and 26; March 5, 12 and 19. **
BA2/2 Transnational organized crime and the future of global security by Dr. Shiraz (42 places)
The accelerated pace of globalisation since the 1980s not only increased global trade along with the flow of private capital and investment but also led to the creation of a global shadow economy without borders. Transnational organised crime arguably constitutes a greater threat than terrorism and has certainty resulted in more deaths through the flow of weapons, financing of violent conflict, and increasingly urban warfare. The global operations of arms traders, international criminals, and drug barons combined with the insidious corruption of state institutions and international frameworks have created unprecedented challenges for the modern state and its citizens, particularly in parts of Asia, Africa and Latin America.
The shifting security landscape of transnational organised crime has emerged as an issue of critical concern across global and regional organisations and national governments resulting in a wide array of policy prescriptions and treaties. However, the increasing complexity of transnational organised crime and borderless security threats have outpaced the ability of international organisations, national governments and their security forces to curb illicit trades.
In this course, outstanding honours students will theoretically and practically study, analyse and evaluate the impact of transnational organised crime on security in the Global South together with global and local policy responses. Using case study analysis, students will examine drug production and trafficking, proliferation of arms, and human smuggling and how these illicit trades interact with globalisation, regional security dynamics and the changing nature of security in the Global South.
Students are encouraged to engage with policy and academic literature from the observed countries to gain an understanding of competing interests and fault lines in the global efforts to counter transnational organised crime. During the interactive seminars, students will work in teams to deploy this knowledge and generate pragmatic and innovative solutions to the global challenge of transnational organised crime.
*Course-objectives *
By the end of the course, students are able to:
Explain and analyse core concepts and issues related to themes of ‘globalisation’ and ‘security’ in a multi-level perspective, i.e.: global, regional and national, with a particular emphasis on the Global South.
Explain and critically analyse the principle policy responses to transnational organisation on a global level through the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, and identify areas of improvement through evidenced argumentation;
Deploy basic case study methods to explain how and why transnational organised crime has impacted the observed countries.
Combine existing knowledge from the wider programme with theoretical and practical insights in this course.
Reflect on global challenges in an interdiscplinary manner using approaches, i.e.: International Security, Political Science, Area Studies and Criminology.
Work in teams to produce policy guidance that is grounded in scientific and policy research and literature.
**Schedule BA2 semester 2:
Tuesday from 17.15-20.00: February 3 and 10; March 3, 17 and 31; April 14; May 12. Presentation assignments from 17.15-21.00: April 28. **
BA2/2 and BA3/2 The Battle for Europe by Hans van den Berg (25 places Honours FGGA and 25 places Honours elective)
Europe once ruled the world, but now the continent is under attack from all sides, including from within. Chinese President Xi Jinping sees the continent as a win-win region. He has been buying influence in the Western Balkans for years and trying to tear the European Union apart. Russia feels threatened and President Putin conducts covert and now also military operations to disrupt NATO. President Trump, meanwhile, made it easy for the Russians and Chinese by turning away from his closest allies and opening the attack on Europe himself. President Biden was more involved in Europe, but pursued an America first strategy and was aware that the future is all about the Asian region. President Trump has completely turned on Europe and the former US allies, the question is, what is the impact? Prime Minister Johnson thought he would be better off outside the European Union and the Hungarian, and former Polish, leaders are undermining the democratic rule of law. They all believe that a strong European Union stands in the way of their ambitions. Political leaders struggle with an answer. The corona crisis, the war in Ukraine and many other issues have further increased the challenge. Can we win this battle for Europe? Can Trump destroy the alliances? What will the relationship between Germany and France bring? Will the EU remain a player in the world, or will the continent become the playground of world powers?
This course will explore current challenges and opportunities to and within the EU. This is done through different perspectives but is always focused on current affairs. With guest lectures from experts in different fields and practical exercises, students will explore the current challenges and opportunities. The current affairs topics are not picked yet as these will focus on what is relevant at that point in time.
Course-objectives
Formulate a perspective on threats and opportunities for the European Union.
Develop a policy advice on a current issue in relation to the developments within or outside the European Union.
Analyse the functioning of the European Union.
Analyse current affairs and issues within the European Union and external which have an impact on it.
Explain the major milestones and developments within the European Union.
Create a personal perspective on current and ongoing issues within and about the future of the EU.
Schedule BA 2 and 3 semester 2
Thursdays from 19.15-22.00: March 26; April 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30; May 7 and 21 mei.
Tuesday from 19.15-22.00: May 12.
Third year
YEAR BA3 semester 2: Honours FGGA
In the winter of your final BA year the Honours coordinator will contact you about your study plan in semester 2. You can choose between three TGC courses. The courses offer you the possibility to play a consultancy role for an organization or to become part of a think tank. The courses start in February and the Honours coordinator will give you the possibility to select one of them as well as of enrollment on Brightspace and in uSis.
BA3/2 Effective Altruism, Tithing, and a Principle of Progressive Giving, by Dr. Eamon Aloyo (ISGA, United States of America national) (30 places)
Effective altruism (EA) is an emerging social movement grounded in philosophical ideas, proponents of which use reasoning and evidence to do the most good possible with a given unit of resources. This class is a selective introduction to EA with an emphasis on some aspects of EA that are relevant to security studies. We will critically assess some philosophical underpinnings of EA, explore popular EA topics, and introduce some skills about how EA reasoning can be applied to various issues. It will connect EA ideas to aspects of security studies such as just war theory, nuclear and biological weapons, existential risks, and other topics.
Course objectives
1. Understand and critically evaluate the central arguments in favor of and against effective altruism (EA).
2. Understand some basic aspects of some of main areas in which effective altruists focus.
3. Develop critical thinking skills linked to EA such as how to evaluate a moral argument, do cost effectiveness comparisons, conduct Fermi estimates, and do expected value calculations.
4. Improve research skills related to EA.
5. Understand how an EA lens can be applied to security studies.
Schedule BA3/semester 2 block 3:
Thursday mornings from 9.15-11 am: February 5, 12, 19 and 26; March 5, 12 and 19.
BA2/2 and BA3/2 Data Governance and policymaking by Matthew Young (30 places for 2e and 3e years)
This course is designed to teach students about the most important and controversial Big Data applications currently being used in the public sector. The course has a practical and utilitarian component, which is to introduce students to what these applications are. It also has an analytical component, which is to learn and apply critical thinking towards such applications using findings from scholarly literature and public discussion about real cases.
On the first component, it will address questions of how the technologies work and why governments use them. For example, students will be introduced to the basic working principles of predictive policing, fraud detection, and smart public installations such as lighting and traffic systems. These are each different in important ways and there are different technical and social consequences. Students will learn about key technology ‘affordances’ and frameworks that can help know what to highlight and be critical of.
A second component will involve learning about real world cases and the arguments and evidence available from academic research. This component will pose questions such as what ethical issues arise from use of the technologies, whether robots will decide all the important matters that affect our lives, and whether there is anything that governments and citizens can do to use technologies to make government better. For example, we may review and discuss cases of Google’s failed smart city project in Toronto, the Dutch fall-out from the ‘Toeslagenaffaire’, or Rio de Janeiro’s policing of favelas. The global spread of big data technologies will be used as an opportunity to learn about a wide variety of countries and cities.
Students will learn to navigate the complex technical and ethical issues and put forward their own arguments through discussion and debate. Together, these skills and knowledge will help students to critically assess these tools and to become more expert both as critical users of technologies and as systems architects.
Course-objectives
Describe examples of different kinds of Big Data applications in public services
Debate the public values pros and cons of artificial intelligence in the public sector using real world examples and academic literature
Carry out a research project that critically evaluates an algorithmic decision-making system from the perspective of protecting and improving public values.
**Schedule BA2 and BA 3 semester 2, block 3:
ONLINE Thursday evenings from 19.00-20.45: February 5, 12, 19 and 26; March 5, 12 and 19. **
BA2/2 and BA3/2 The Battle for Europe by Hans van den Berg (25 places Honours FGGA and 25 places Honours elective)
Europe once ruled the world, but now the continent is under attack from all sides, including from within. Chinese President Xi Jinping sees the continent as a win-win region. He has been buying influence in the Western Balkans for years and trying to tear the European Union apart. Russia feels threatened and President Putin conducts covert and now also military operations to disrupt NATO. President Trump, meanwhile, made it easy for the Russians and Chinese by turning away from his closest allies and opening the attack on Europe himself. President Biden was more involved in Europe, but pursued an America first strategy and was aware that the future is all about the Asian region. President Trump has completely turned on Europe and the former US allies, the question is, what is the impact? Prime Minister Johnson thought he would be better off outside the European Union and the Hungarian, and former Polish, leaders are undermining the democratic rule of law. They all believe that a strong European Union stands in the way of their ambitions. Political leaders struggle with an answer. The corona crisis, the war in Ukraine and many other issues have further increased the challenge. Can we win this battle for Europe? Can Trump destroy the alliances? What will the relationship between Germany and France bring? Will the EU remain a player in the world, or will the continent become the playground of world powers?
This course will explore current challenges and opportunities to and within the EU. This is done through different perspectives but is always focused on current affairs. With guest lectures from experts in different fields and practical exercises, students will explore the current challenges and opportunities. The current affairs topics are not picked yet as these will focus on what is relevant at that point in time.
Course-objectives
Formulate a perspective on threats and opportunities for the European Union.
Develop a policy advice on a current issue in relation to the developments within or outside the European Union.
Analyse the functioning of the European Union.
Analyse current affairs and issues within the European Union and external which have an impact on it.
Explain the major milestones and developments within the European Union.
Create a personal perspective on current and ongoing issues within and about the future of the EU.
Schedule BA 2 and 3 semester 2, block 4:
Thursdays from 19.15-22.00: March 26; April 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30; May 7 and 21 mei.
Tuesday from 19.15-22.00: May 12.
