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Modules

The curriculum is composed of eight courses that have to be attended by all students. The course listing for the 2009 Summer School can be seen below. 

Making Sense of Global Politics in a New Context The International Responsibility of China The EU as a Global Actor Multilevel Governance

International Responsibility and the Environment Civil Society Project Module Corporate Social Responsibility Simulation Game

Making Sense of Global Politics in a New Context
(Prof. Klaus Segbers)

This course starts off with instruction on scientific methods, which will prepare the students for writing papers and minutes as well as for conceptualizing presentations. The course will then give an introduction to the emergence of new global structures after the end of the Cold War. This new global context can be characterized as follows: first, by a complex landscape of new and old actors (states, non-governmental organizations, transnational corporations, sub- and supranational regions etc.); second, by a mix of old and new forms of interaction (diplomacy, networks, political movements); third, by new forms of political agency and decision-making (externally driven agendas, ad-hocism, gaps between popular expectations and political feasibility). Some new approaches that will help students to understand the emerging global patchwork will be presented and discussed. The presented approaches will serve as a theoretical framework for the main topic in the following courses.


Multilevel Governance
(Prof. Chen Zhimin)

Private actors and the civil society play a central role in Prof. Chen's class.  The course mainly concentrates on power shifts in present-day international politics. Multi-level governance, which developed out of the European Union’s experience, is one perspective for understanding international politics. This approach looks at international politics as a multi-level governance system, where actors at different levels share competencies and have to work with each other to pursue their aims. While states are still the central players in this approach, the concept leaves room for reaching a better understanding of other players in the system, in particular non-state and sub-state actors. Prof. Chen will use the MLG approach to analyze Chinese international responsibility. Additionally, a case study will investigate the triangle USA – China – EU.


Global Civil Society
(Prof. Philipp Ther)

Philipp Ther will introduce students to the theory and practice of civil society. His course starts with an overview of the concept’s historical roots in European political theory. This overview aims to clarify the defining features of the concept and present the normative groundings of current debates in international politics. The second session will be dedicated to concrete examples of the development of a civil society in 19th and 20th century Europe. This approach will reveal the characteristics of civil society actors and their relationship with the state. Building on this historical assessment, the third session will examine the European and global dimensions of the concept, paying special attention to its applicability in non-European societies and the possible emergence of a transnational civil society.


International Responsibility and the Environment
(Prof. Miranda Schreurs)

Miranda Schreurs’ course focuses on a topic – the environment – which particularly represents the necessity for responsible cooperation in order to solve transboundary problems. This course will introduce the comparative research approach and illustrate the study of comparative politics through the example of environment protection.  The class familiarizes students with the environmental policies of Germany and Europe and establishes the conditions for successful cross-border cooperation in this field.  The course will then take these findings into account while examining the process of defining and implementing environmental and climate protection goals on the international level. The analysis focuses on the potential and current roles of the EU and China as responsible participants in international governance processes.


The EU as a Global Actor
(Ulrich Brückner, PhD)

The course examines the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and the further external relations of the EU in the framework of international responsibility. The central question will be the EU’s character and its ability to act. After an introduction to the institutional, economic and political background of the EU, the course will analyze the possible options for action and explore them critically by applying different theories. Theories which view the EU as a global regulatory power or a normative power will play a central role in this module. Additionally, the class will derive predictions of how the EU will search for the solutions to problems in international politics and how it will shape its relations to non-EU countries. Two case studies (relations between the EU and developing countries; the EU and its reaction to an international crisis) will test the previously introduced theories and analyze the real options for influence.


The International Responsibility of China
(Prof. Shen Dingli)

Following along the same lines as the the EU course, Prof. Shen Dingli analyzes the new role of China in different forums of international cooperation. He concentrates on the political dilemmas of cooperation in 21st-century Asia, where China is increasingly acting as an intermediary. Case studies will analyze China’s role in non-proliferation policy and in combating terrorism, as well as its relations to developing countries. The course aims to create an understanding of the evolution of Chinese foreign policy over the last few years and to analyze the determinants of China’s future position on security policy.


Corporate Social Responsibility (Project Module)
(Ole Jantschek, M.A.)

The project module on Corporate Social Responsibility will introduce students to a new group of actors (private business). It will analyze their role in the new mechanisms of global governance both theoretically and on the basis of case studies (e.g. Global Compact, OECD Guidelines). The course will critically reflect the responsibility of business from a political science as well as from an economic science perspective. In a second step, students will be able to apply their theoretical knowledge by acting as groups of consultants to internationally-oriented companies, with the task of working out a Corporate Social Responsibility strategy in a given context. They will then present their strategies to a jury of external experts from the German business delegation and Shanghai-based companies. The best strategy will be awarded a prize during the farewell dinner.


International Responsibility for Conflict Resolution (Simulation game)
(Björn Warkalla, Dipl.-Pol.)

Following the two courses that address respectively the foreign policy positions of the EU and China, students will be confronted in this simulation game with an international conflict that has to be solved by multilateral negotiations. The course will work with a fictional conflict. Working from their own experiences, the students learn which dynamics influence the governance of political conflicts in the age of globalization. Political problems and fields of action are getting increasingly complex and interdependent. Politicians who act on an international stage always have to keep in mind that there are several political levels. The simulation game addresses questions concerning both the responsibility for finding solutions to international crises and the conflict between state sovereignty and basic human rights.

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The Global Politics Summer School China program varies from year to year. Here are two more examples of courses offered in previous years:  

Media and International Politics
(Kristina Klinkforth, M.A.)

The course ”Media and (World) Politics“ focuses on mass media as a new agent and factor in world politics. In the introductory part, it examines the development of new communication agents and devices such as electronic mass media as well as the internet, and identifies pivotal questions for today’s media-policy interactions. At the heart of the debate on the role mass media play in world politics today is the question to what extent mass media are capable of influencing politics and even of determining policy outcomes by means of the “CNN effect.” Scholars doubting the existence of the CNN effect argue that the mass media have just become another vehicle for policymakers to “manufacture consent” for their policies. Both theses will be considered throughout the course and evidence for both positions will be considered. The overall objective of this course is to identify (new) conditions for policymaking in a media-driven environment and to look at ways policymakers attempt to cope with this challenge.


Realities and Perception of Rising China
(Prof. Ulrich Menzel)

Rising China has become a dominant subject of international relations in recent years, attracting a great deal of attention from experts and the broad media. While China's leaders have given this dynamic process the motto of "peaceful rise" since the inception of reform policies in 1978, it is often perceived as both fascinating and threatening abroad. The course introduces students to various dimensions of China's rise in recent years and analyses its consequences for the international system. On the one hand, it aims at clarifying the distribution of gains and losses of China's rise in the domestic and international spheres. On the other hand, the course situates today's development in a historical comparative perspective by referring to hegemony and empires of former times. Not least, the class raises students' awareness for the complex genesis and importance of diverging perceptions in international politics.