Spring 2016

The International Politics of Climate Change

Listed in: Political Science, as POSC-112

Faculty

Eleonora Mattiacci (Section 01)

Description

[G,SC] Can countries come together to address the challenges of climate change? And if so, which negotiation techniques are more likely to be successful, and why? Does one solution fit all, or would it be better to rely on different formats for pairs of states? This class employs a diverse set of learning techniques to address these timely questions in international politics. First, we will build on cutting-edge academic research to investigate the mechanisms through which climate change puts each country’s economy and political stability under duress. Then, we will utilize role-playing analysis techniques to have each student embrace the perspective of one key international actor (such as the U.S., the United Nations, China, Ghana, Kenya, the World Bank, etc.) and devise a strategy for that actor to decrease the challenges that climate change poses to its economic and political stability. Finally, we will use simulation techniques to reproduce international negotiations to reduce CO2 emissions. Each student, while representing a key international actor and advancing the national interest of that country, will try to mitigate the impact of climate change on the recurrence of violence and war. The aim of the class is to wrestle with the fundamental contradiction between the global scale that international efforts to tackle the climate change require and the region-specific challenges that climate change impose on each country’s economy and political stability.  

Limited to 15 students.  Spring semester.  Visiting Professor Mattiacci.

POSC 112 - L/D

Section 01
M 12:30 PM - 01:50 PM FAYE 217
W 12:30 PM - 01:50 PM FAYE 217

Offerings

2024-25: Not offered
Other years: Offered in Spring 2016, Fall 2017, Fall 2019