BIOL40750 Global Governance (JLU)

Academic Year 2023/2024

The traditional global order which emerged after World War II and which emphasizes the rule of international law and of "global governance" has been challenged by several developments during the past two decades: the shift of international power to authoritarian states, decreasing support for the liberal global order by powerful democracies (e.g., the United States of America), emerging populism and a trend towards de-democratization and autonomy-seeking in traditional democracies, crises of international organizations and regimes (e.g., EU-crisis, deadlocks of international climate policy).

This year topic: Global Governance and the Transformation of Economic and Social Systems towards Sustainability
The Goals for Sustainable Development (SDGs) include targets for global environmental and social politics that require fundamental transformations in nearly all important economic and social spheres by 2030. Some of these goals are so ambitious that they will hardly be achieved if global policymaking relies on the normal approach of "muddling through". On the one hand, the seminar will assess why past policy changes were not as far-reaching as required. It is obvious that achievements in important policy areas such as climate change, protection of tropical forests, sustainable agriculture (to mention only a few of these critical issues) were by far less-far reaching as necessary. In addition, the framework conditions for the development of effective global policies deteriorated in light of new nationalism, retreat from multi-lateralism by single states or denial of the relevance of environmental and social issues by populists. The seminar will also explore the impacts of these developments on global environmental and social governance (e.g., on single regimes or international organizations). It will focus on developments at global, regional, national and sub-national levels and also consider the important role of business and NGOs.