Sustainability Governance in a Changing World (2025/2026: Periode 1)

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Cursusdoel

Please note: the information in the course manual is binding.
After completion of the course, the student is able to:
  1. Recognize, explain, and reflect upon core concepts and theories of sustainability governance;
  2. Recognize, explain, and reflect upon emerging conceptual and empirical trends in sustainability governance;
  3. Critically analyze and reflect upon the role of key political actors and institutions in this field;
  4. Critically review books and articles of leading authors and form their own opinion about academic debates within this field;
  5. Acquire a fine-grained and nuanced understanding of the positions of key actors in negotiating sustainability agreements in a volatile geopolitical landscape.

Vakinhoudelijk

The MSc Sustainable Development consists of four tracks, one of which is Earth System Governance. The course “Sustainability Governance in a Changing World” introduces this track by providing students with conceptual, theoretical, and empirical tools to apprehend the intricacies of collective action in an increasingly unstable geopolitical order. Governance is the process of collectively steering societal actors towards desirable goals. The course will cover all levels of governance, from the local level of village politics to the top level of decisions of the United Nations, and will explore the role of traditional and emerging actors therein. Governments are an important part of governance, yet other actors (environmental activists, cities, youth movements, science associations, philanthropic foundations) all play important roles as well. Our discussions will shed light on the interconnections and interdependencies between governance levels and actors, providing students with a critical understanding of the challenges and opportunities associated with strategic decision-making within complex environments. Throughout the course, our discussions will emphasize on change: students will be able to capture the myriad ways in which the world is changing, and analyze how governance can respond to such an ever-changing environment to achieve sustainability transformation.
The course is organized into four components of roughly two weeks each:
  1. Setting the stage with real-world sustainability challenges: Key empirical sustainability issues will be introduced and critically discussed, for students to develop a holistic understanding of contemporary sustainability debates, challenges, and policies;
  2. Theories of sustainability governance: Several of the foundational theoretical paradigms in sustainability governance will be discussed, including realism, liberalism, constructivism, and critical approaches, as well as contemporary paradigms such as ecomodernism, degrowth, and green colonialism;
  3. Governance across scales and actors: Governance at global, regional, and local levels will be explored, and central actors of governance will be introduced and their roles discussed, including the state, international organizations, cities and regions, civil society and other non-state actors;
  4. Governing change in a changing environment: Major governance dynamics and tensions will be discussed, before introducing key theoretical tools for apprehending the governance and politics of transformation, including transitions and transformations theories. Finally, upcoming sustainability governance milestones will be discussed (e.g., the future of the Sustainable Development Goals, Climate COP, Global Plastics Treaty), allowing students to adopt a forward-looking approach and explore governance frontiers in a changing context marked by geopolitical shifts and democratic breakdown.
Issues: Each of the components will be illustrated with empirical examples based on the research fields of the Environmental Governance group at the Copernicus Institute. In particular, leading representatives of our group will discuss climate governance, biodiversity governance, the Sustainable Development Goals, ocean governance, providing students the opportunity to specialize in more depth in one area, also with a view to possible topics for their later MSc thesis. Students must have actively participated in this course in order to take:
  • Analysing Governance Practices (GEO4-2328);
  • Research Strategies ESG (GEO4-2304);
  • International Governance for SD (GEO4-2305).

Werkvormen

Lectures
Toelichting

Guest lectures and tutorials are compulsory.

Tutorials
Bijdrage

Students will participate in two group work exercises, each leading to a jointly authored essay.

Study of scientific literature
Toelichting

The Course Guide will provide a list of all required readings. All articles can be accessed through the UU library system (e.g. Scopus).

Toetsing

Eindresultaat

Verplicht | Weging 1% | ECTS 7,5

20% first group review essay 20% second group review essay 50% exam 10% literature review (oral presentation in class)

Ingangseisen en voorkennis

Ingangseisen

Je moet inschreven staan voor een van de volgende opleidingen:

  • Energy Science
  • Innovation Sciences
  • Sustainable Business and Innovation
  • Sustainable Development
  • Water Science and Management

Je moet een geldige toelatingsbeschikking hebben

Voorkennis

Students for whom this course is obligatory have priority. This course is strongly advised for all students of the MSc Sustainable Development who plan to write their MSc thesis within the track ‘Earth System Governance’ and/or under the supervision of a staff member of the Environmental Governance group of the Copernicus Institute. The course is an elective for all other students of MSc ES, MSc IS, MSc WSM/WMCA, and MSc SBI.

Voertalen

  • Engels

Cursusmomenten

Gerelateerde studies

Tentamens

Er is geen tentamenrooster beschikbaar voor deze cursus

Verplicht materiaal

  • STUDIEWIJZER
    A Course Manual will list all required readings, along with a list of suggested further reading.

Aanbevolen materiaal

Er is geen informatie over de aanbevolen literatuur bekend

Coördinator

dr. C.A. Senit c.a.senit@uu.nl

Docenten

A. Narayan Visweswaran MSc a.narayanvisweswaran@uu.nl

Inschrijving

Let op: deze cursus is niet toegankelijk voor studenten van andere faculteiten, bijvakkers mogen zich dus niet inschrijven.

Inschrijving
Van maandag 2 juni 2025 tot en met vrijdag 20 juni 2025

Na-inschrijving
Van maandag 18 augustus 2025 tot en met dinsdag 19 augustus 2025

Inschrijving niet geopend
Permanente link naar de cursuspagina
Laat in de Cursus-Catalogus zien