STV4214B - International Environmental Governance
Course description
Schedule, syllabus and examination date
Choose semester
Course content
Since the industrial revolution, human use of natural resources has increased substantially. So has the imprint of human activities on many ecological systems. These developments generate new challenges for environmental governance. The fact that the boundaries of states rarely coincide with those of ecosystems or systems of human activity implies that effective governance of the use of natural resources and environmental services often requires international cooperation.
Over the past four to five decades we have seen a rapid growth in the number of international regimes and organizations established to cope with this challenge. However, the effectiveness of these institutions varies significantly, and the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment concluded that the overall growth in capacity for governance has not kept pace with the growth in human ‘footprints’ on the Earth System. This course reviews critical factors behind this discrepancy and explores how international regimes and organizations can narrow the gap.
Learning outcome
Knowledge
Students will
- Further develop their understanding of environmental change as a challenge for international governance
- Better understand conditions for ‘success’ and causes of ‘failure’ of international regimes and organizations
- Learn how different regulatory tools and institutional designs ‘work’
Skills
Students will
- Learn how to describe and diagnose instances of resource depletion or environmental change as problems of international environmental governance
- Enhance their skills in detecting or designing solutions that – in addition to being environmentally sustainable – meet, to the extent possible, basic standards of economic efficiency and political feasibility
- Learn how to assess and explain the performance of international institutions
Competences
Students will
- Improve their knowledge base for professional work that involves describing and ‘diagnosing’ challenges of international environmental governance and makes good use of these ‘diagnoses’ in identifying opportunities and designing solutions
Admission
Students admitted to other Master programmes may be qualified to apply for the course. Please see the webpage on Admission to single master's courses.
For incoming students:
All Master's courses in Political Science must be registered manually by the Department, they will not appear in Studentweb. Contact your international coordinator at UiO.
Prerequisites
Formal prerequisite knowledge
Bachelor's degree in political science or similar.
Recommended previous knowledge
Bachelor's degree in political science or similar.
Teaching
Lectures.
Examination
One written essay (3500-5000 words in length).
3 hour written exam.
The final exam counts 60% of the grade, and in order to pass the course, your essay and your written exam must be passed in the same semester as the course is taught.
You will receive one overall grade for the course.
Guidelines for home assignments - Technical standards, deadlines etc.
Examination support material
Students may use dictionaries at this exam. Dictionaries must be handed in before the examination. Please read regulations for dictionaries permitted at the examination.
Language of examination
It is generally possible to submit your response in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish or English.
Grading scale
Grades are awarded on a scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F is a fail. Read more about the grading system.
Explanations and appeals
- Explanation of grades - deadline and processing time
- Appeal about grades
- Complaint about formal exam errors
Resit an examination
Withdrawal from an examination
If you wish to withdraw from the exam you must do so in StudentWeb at least two weeks prior to the deadline. Failure to do so will be counted as one of the three opportunities to sit the exam.
Special examination arrangements
If you have a disability or a health problem that entails significant inconvenience in an examination situation, you may be considered for special examination arrangements. Mothers who are breastfeeding may apply for extra time to complete the exam.
Evaluation
Feedback from our students is essential to us in our efforts to ensure and further improve the high quality of our programmes and courses. All courses are subject to continuous evaluation. At regular intervals we also ask students on a particular course to participate in a more comprehensive, periodic evaluation of this course.