Spring 2008 Course Description
Advanced Topics in Public Policy
| Section Title: |
International Organizations and Global Civil Society |
| Instructor(s): |
Joshua Busby |
| Course: |
P A 388K - Advanced Topics in Public Policy
(previously Seminar in Topics in Public Policy) |
| Unique Number: |
64320 |
| Day & Time: |
Wednesdays, 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM |
| Room: |
SRH 3.102 |
| Waitlist Information: | For LBJ Students: UT Waitlist Information
For Non LBJ Students: LBJ School Waitlist Instructions |
| Syllabus: |
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This course fulfills requirements for the following specialization(s):
- Nonprofit and Philanthropic Studies
- International Affairs
- Public Management and Leadership
Description: What are the principles and structures of order and governance in the international system? Who runs the world? What institutions determine policy in different substantive domains? This course will seek to answer these and other questions, starting with first principles of the nature of the international system all the way through a survey of different substantive arenas in international policy including security, trade, finance, development, human rights, environment, health, and relief operations. The course will start at a high-level of abstraction before turning to a discussion of specific institutions that have buildings and staff. The course will examine the evolution of the system of nation-states, the importance of national sovereignty, and the effects of powerful states on patterns and processes of international cooperation. The course will also examine the role of middle powers and weak states and the rise of non-state actors including NGOs and advocacy movements but also terrorists and drug traffickers. Among the specific international institutions and regimes the course will examine: the United Nations, NATO, the European Union, the World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the International Criminal Court, the Kyoto Protocol, the Global Fund, and the Red Cross. In looking at the roles of different actors and institutions, the course will seek to answer a number of corollary questions: (1) why do states sometimes create international organizations? (2) how powerful are these institutions once created? (3) how do these institutions function? (4) why are some more effective than others? (5) how has the rise of global civil society changed the nature of global governance?
Course requirements for this class will include (1) a significant but reasonable amount of reading (2) your attendance and participation (3) a writing assignment, and (4) at least one written exam.
Return to Spring 2008 Course Schedule
