Curs 2013-2014

GLOBALIZATION AND POLITICS (21714)

 

 

1. Dades de l'assignatura / Course details

 

Assignatura: Política i Globalització / Globalization and Politics

Codi de l'assignatura: 21714

Estudis: Grau en Ciències Polítiques i de l'Administració

Nombre de Crèdits: 4 crèdits ECTS (100 hores de dedicació)

Curs Acadèmic: 2013-2014

Trimestre: 3er

Llengua de Docència: Anglès / English

Professor: Dr. Abel Escribà i Folch

 

 

2. Presentació de l'assignatura / Outline of the course

 

Globalization is generally understood as the reduction in the barriers to and the intensification of the exchange of economic, political, and cultural relations across world countries and regions. However, the term still generates confusion and there are diverging ideas about its content and meaning. Further, the consequences and implications of globalization are pervasive not only in media discussions but also in policy debates and academic research.

In this course, the different aspects and dimensions of globalization (both economic and political) will be presented, analyzed and discussed. The course is aimed at providing the students with the conceptual and analytical tools necessary to comprehend the different 'faces' that globalization has and how they affect domestic politics and political decisions.

In particular, the course will explore and expand the understating of the four main dimensions of globalization. First, we will deal with the most known dimension of globalization, the economic one, and discuss the domestic economic, social, and political implications and consequences of international trade and financial liberalization. We will also discuss the attempts to globalize development and reduce poverty by critically analyzing the main instrument used to do so, foreign aid. Second, we will turn to explore the political side of globalization paying attention to the diffusion and promotion of democracy around the globe and to the instruments of foreign pressure democracies may use. In the third part of the course we will analyze the extension of the human rights system and the creation of the ICC, and will discuss the potential practical consequences on human rights violations and other governments' domestic responses. Finally, in the last section the impact of globalization on civil and interstate conflict will be discussed.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Competències a assolir / Competences-skills

 

 

Competències generals:	Competències específiques:
G1: Capacitat d'anàlisi i de síntesi G3: Comunicació oral i escrita G4: Coneixement d'un segona llengua G9: Capacitat de crítica i autocrítica G10: Treball en equip	E4: Reconèixer els fonaments de la política comparada E9: Reconèixer la dimensió històrica dels processos polítics i socials E15: Reconèixer la política internacional
Capacity for analysis and synthesis Oral and written communication skills Knowledge of a second language Capacity for critical thinking and self-criticism Teamwork	To get familiarized with the fundamentals of comparative politics Comprehending the historical dimension of political and social processes Understand international politics

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Continguts / Contents

 

Bloc de Contingut 1: Understanding Globalization

-       The concept of 'globalization'

-       Is globalization new? Historical perspectives and evolution

-       The dimensions of globalization

 

Bloc de Contingut 2: The Globalization of Trade

-       The economic theory of trade integration

-       The distributional consequences of trade: inequality and power

-       The political consequences of trade: efficiency vs. compensation

-       Trade and development strategies: import substitution vs. export promotion

-       The logic behind trade liberalization and he World Trade Organization

 

Bloc de Contingut 3: The Globalization of Financial Flows

-       The logic of financial globalization: motives for liberalizing

-       Exchange-rate policies: political and economic dimensions

-       The domestic economic consequences of financial integration and exchange-rate systems

-       Eroding State-capacity? Financial globalization and domestic policy: The Policy Trilemma

-       Multinational corporations: motivations and consequences for host countries

 

Bloc de Contingut 4: The Globalization of Development

-       World development patterns: divergence or convergence?

-       The political economy of aid: the donors. Who gives aid and why?

-       The political economy of aid: the recipients. Africa's aid dependency and its political consequences

 

Bloc de Contingut 5: The Globalization of Politics and Democracy

-       The diffusion and promotion of democracy

-       The instruments of international pressure: conditional aid, sanctions, shaming campaigns, and military interventions. Do they work?

-       The effectiveness of hard politics: Can third-countries destabilize dictatorships?

 

Bloc de Contingut 6: The Globalization of Human Rights and Justice

-       The international human rights regime

-       Why governments sign human rights treaties?

-       Globalizing justice? The International Criminal Court

-       The political consequences of globalizing justice: More justice or more brutal and longer-lasting dictators?

 

Bloc de Contingut 7: The Globalization of Peace (or War?)

-       The links between economic globalization and conflict: the mechanisms

-       State failure and its causes

-       The impact of integration on the occurrence of civil war. Global warming and war

-       Trade and interstate wars: Does globalization foster peace?

 

5. Seminaris / Seminars

 

Besides the lectures, this course includes three seminar sessions as well. In them, the students are expected to discuss, debate, and analyze some implication, case study or controversy concerning some of the topics analyzed in class.

In particular, the seminar sessions will take the form of debates, video-forums, discussions, and simulation exercises. Seminars will include individual and group activities. Readings and other resources will be made available to the students in the course's Aula Global. These resources will include: documentaries, reports by international organizations, governments and NGOs, newspaper articles, and academic articles and book chapters.

 

There will be three seminars, which will deal with the following topics:

 

A.    Seminar 1: "The pros and cons of Fair Trade"

In this seminar, after watching a documentary on the topic, we will discuss the characteristics of the fair trade movement and initiative. Fair trade aims at helping producers of agricultural products in developing countries by ensuring higher prices, better working conditions and investments. However, there is considerable criticism of the claims made by the Fair Trade advocates and proponents. We will discuss and analyze the following questions using different readings and other resources (documentary): Is fair trade really fair? If not, what are its main problems or inconsistencies? Is free trade better than fair trade?

 

B.    Seminar 2: "Empowering the poor and women? Foreign aid, microfinance and the civil society"

In this seminar we will critically analyze the different existing alternatives aimed at reducing world poverty. In particular, after having discussed the potential problems of development aid in class, we will take a closer look at some alternatives including microfinance and the role of local civil society in development. Microfinance has been argued to reduce poverty and empower women, while the implication of local civil society provides aid with local knowledge and reduces state involvement. Thus, we will discuss the potential benefits of these "new" strategies. What are the best strategies to promote development and reduce poverty? Are microcredits a good way of empowering women and poor people?   

 

C.    Seminar 3: "Sanctions and military intervention against a repressive State?"

In this seminar we will simulate a meeting of the UN Security Council aimed at discussing a potential military intervention and the adoption of sanctions against one repressive dictatorship (Iran or Syria, for example). Students (organized in groups) will thus discuss the strategies to put pressure and even coerce dictatorships and their potential impact. Can democracies coerce dictatorships and help protecting human rights? Are military pro-democratic and humanitarian interventions legal and/or legitimate? Do they help target States? Do they really promote democracy or help peace-building? Are economic sanctions effective in making regimes concede?

 

 

 

 

6. Avaluació / Evaluation

 

Students' grade will be based on two basic assignments:

 

The first one is based on the seminar sessions which account for 45% of the final grade. This grade will be based on the students' active participation in the discussions held during the seminars and on three short essays (one for each seminar). Attendance to the seminar sessions is compulsory. Those not showing up and not having a (written) justification will get a zero in that seminar.   

 

Secondly, there will be a final exam. The exam accounts for the other 55% of the final grade. In the exam, students will be asked to write some short and one (longer) essay response to a series of questions covering the topics of the course.

 

Those failing the seminar part of the course will be required to hand a review essay in July. Those who fail the exam will be required to take another exam in July. Only those who have attended and handed the assignments of two of the seminars and have taken the exam will be able to retest to pass the course in July.

 

 

 

7. Metodologia/ Methodology

 

This course combines lectures with seminars. During the lectures the professor will present and discuss the topics to be developed, but also participation will be encouraged through questions and open discussions with students. There are readings assigned for each lecture. Those readings may consist of newspapers articles, papers and academic or journalistic debates about the topic to be discussed in class. In all cases, students are expected to come to class having read the readings and prepared to discuss them. Readings will be made available in the course's Aula Global. In the seminars, the students will have open debates using the materials and resources assigned. After the seminar, students are expected to write a short essay.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8. Bibliografia i recursos didàctics / Bibliography and other resources

 

-       Basic books:

 

Campbell, Patricia J., Aran McKinnon, and Christy R: Stevens. 2010. An Introduction to Global Studies. Wiley-Blackwell. 

 

Ritzer, George. 2010. Globalization: A Basic Text. Wiley-Blackwell.

 

Woods, Ngaire. 2000. The Political Economy of Globalization. Palgrave Macmillan.

 

David Held, Anthony McGrew; David Goldblatt y Jonathan Perraton. 1999. Global Transformations. Politics, Economics and Culture. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

 

Lechner, Franck J. and John Boli (eds.). 2003. The Globalization Reader. Boston: Blackwell. 

 

Oatley, Thomas. 2006. International Political Economy: Interests and Institutions in the Global Economy. New York: Pearson-Longman. [I recommend the 2012 5^th edition]

 

Frieden, Jeffry A. 2006. Global Capitalism. Its Rise and Fall in the Twentieth Century. New York: WW Norton.

 

Frieden, Jeffry A. and David A. Lake. 2000. International Political Economy: Perspectives on Global Wealth and Power. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's.

 

Krugman, Paul R., Maurice Obstfeld and Marc J. Melitz. 2012. International Economics: Theory and Policy. Pearson.

 

-       Further recommendations:

 

Stiglitz, Joseph. 2002. Globalization and Its Discontents. New York: Norton.

 

Rodrik, Dani. 1997. Has Globalization Gone Too Far?. Washington, DC: Institute for International Economics.

 

Rodrik, Dani. 2011. The Globalization Paradox: Democracy and the Future of the World Economy. New York: W.W. Norton.   

 

Easterly, William. 2001. The Elusive Quest for Growth: Economists' Adventures and Misadventures in the Tropics. Cambridge MA: MIT Press.

 

Easterly, William. 2006. The White Man's Burden: Why the West's Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good. New York: Penguin Press.

 

Collier, Paul. 2007. The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and What Can Be Done About It. Oxford University Press.

 

Carothers, Thomas. 1999. Aiding Democracy Abroad: The Learning Curve. Washington D.C.: The Brookings Institution Press.

 

Carey, Sabine C., Mark Gibney, and Steven C. Poe. 2010. The Politics of Human Rights: The Quest for Dignity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 

 

-       Data and other resources:

 

World Bank: World Development Indicators (WDI) and poverty data:

            http://databank.worldbank.org/ddp/home.do?Step=12&id=4&CNO=2

            http://povertydata.worldbank.org/poverty/home

 

IMF data:

            http://www.imf.org/external/data.htm

 

OECD statistics:

            http://stats.oecd.org/

 

WTO trade and tariffs statistics:

            http://www.wto.org/english/res_e/statis_e/statis_e.htm

 

Data on financial openness (Chinn & Ito Index)

            http://web.pdx.edu/~ito/Chinn-Ito_website.htm

            http://web.pdx.edu/~ito/trilemma_indexes.htm

 

Economic sanctions episodes:

            http://www.piie.com/research/topics/sanctions/sanctions-timeline.cfm

 

Foreign aid statistics:

OECD: http://www.oecd.org/document/49/0,3746,en_2649_34447_46582641_1_1_1_1,00.html

            World Bank's World Development Indicators:

http://databank.worldbank.org/ddp/home.do?Step=12&id=4&CNO=2

 

UN peace operations:

            http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/

 

Uppsala Conflict Data Program

            http://www.pcr.uu.se/research/UCDP/

 

CIRI Human Rights data project

            http://ciri.binghamton.edu/

 

-   News, op-ed articles, and other information:

 

The Economist: http://www.economist.com/

Foreign Affairs: http://www.foreignaffairs.com/

Foreign Policy: http://www.foreignpolicy.com/

Global Research: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=home

Mapping Globalization: https://qed.princeton.edu/index.php/MG

Yale Center for the Study of Globalization: http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/

9. Programació d'activitats / Weekly schedule

 

 

Week	In-class activities	Out-of-class activities	In class hours	Out-of-class hours
Week 1	Lecture	Read assigned texts, prepare seminars	3	6
Week 2	Lecture	Read assigned texts, prepare seminars	3	6
Week 3	Lecture	Read assigned texts, prepare seminars	3	6
Week 4	Seminar 1	Read assigned texts, prepare seminars	3	6
Week 5	Lecture	Read assigned texts, prepare seminars	3	6
Week 6	Seminar 2	Read assigned texts, prepare seminars	3	6
Week 7	Lecture	Read assigned texts, prepare seminars	3	6
Week 8	Lecture	Read assigned texts, prepare seminars	3	6
Week 9	Seminar 3	Read assigned texts, prepare seminars	3	6
Week 10	Lecture	Read assigned texts, prepare seminars	3	6
Hours			30	60
Study hours for final exam				10
Total hours			100