Global Climate and Environmental Politics

Global environmental problems are increasingly dealt with and regulated by international organizations such as the United Nations (UN), the European Union (EU) as well as intergovernmental environmental organizations like the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). This course aims at providing deepened insight into the current research on global environmental politics focusing on international climate politics. It highlights competing theories within international relations studying collaboration and conflicts concerning international environmental and natural resource issues. The course deals with the relationship between states, international organizations, the scientific community, and non-governmental actors (e.g. the environmental movement and companies) as well as the role of these different actors in intergovernmental climate change negotiations, international regimes, transnational environmental regulations and the political economy. The course problematizes how issues of power, sovereignty, legitimacy, effectiveness and justice are expressed in the negotiations and implementation of international climate politics.