Spring 2023 • Seminar
Globalization in a Complex World
Prerequisite: None
Exam Type: No Exam
Once heralded as an unstoppable and positive force, globalization is today facing pushback on multiple fronts due to growing great power rivalry and weaponized connectivity, increasing global threats (e.g., pandemics and climate change), and rising inequality. International fields that were previously viewed as relatively separate—like trade and investment, national security, health and the environment—are colliding. Global governance regimes are multiplying, fragmenting, and converging in a bid to grapple with these challenges. This course considers approaches to globalization and global governance in the face of growing complexity. It covers issues such as: What theories can we use to understand the emergence and evolution of complex global governance regimes in areas such as trade and investment? What interdisciplinary strategies can we adopt to better understand complex problems, such as the pushback against economic globalization? What integrative frameworks can we develop to better navigate risks, rewards and resilience across multiple domains? What theories of incremental and transformative change help to explain how change happens in complex global systems?
Note: This seminar will meet over two weeks: the weeks of March 20th and April 3rd.