Prof Kathy Hochstetler

This course is available on the MRes/PhD in International Development. This course is not available as an outside option to students on other programmes. This course uses controlled access as part of the course selection process. For information on controlled access courses, including eligibility, application processes, deadlines, and departmental contact details, please refer to the Controlled Access Courses webpage.

This course is not available as an outside option. DV515 is only available to MRes International Development students.

This course is for a MRes/PhD student who wishes to study the politics of global environmental policy from the perspective of environmental governance and international development. The aim is to summarise debates about ‘global’ environmental problems and to review the contributions of debates about ‘governance’ to political solutions. The main theoretical focus of the course is on understanding the evolution of environmental policy regimes at multiple scales and with multiple actors. The guiding empirical focus is on the role of developing countries in global environmental governance and the effects of environmental policy regimes on their development strategies and outcomes. Some of this draws upon debates within International Relations, but this course also considers other theoretical literatures about environmental politics. Only part of global environmental governance takes place in formal spheres specifically devoted to environmental topics. Thus, while about half the course focuses on global efforts to solve environmental problems, especially in international negotiations, the other half examines economic institutions like trade and financial institutions and their intersections with environment and development concerns. Non-state actors including business actors and civil society actors are also considered.

To make the course focused, it considers primarily anthropogenic climate change, biodiversity and forests, and human movement in response to environmental change.

15 hours of seminars and 15 hours of lectures in the Winter Term.

This course has a reading week in Week 6 of Winter Term.

This course is delivered through a combination of lectures and seminars in the WT. Seminars will be 90 minutes in duration and lectures will be 90 minutes in duration.

Students on this course will have a reading week in Week 6.

Students will be expected to produce one 1,500 word essay in the WT.

A detailed reading list will be presented at the beginning of the term. Because students typically come from multiple backgrounds, care is taken to offer readings that include background information about the topics and theories.

Essay (100%, 5000 words).

One essay of 5,000 words.