Topic outline

  • General

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  • Module overview


    • Since 2015 and the adoption of the Paris Climate Agreement, global climate policy is widely understood as a process that transcends the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It is no longer primarily aimed at producing and enforcing binding reduction targets for states but builds on a flexible ‘pledge and review’ system of voluntary commitments by state and non-state actors alike. Taken together, these changes have been described as a shift away from a ‘regulatory’ and towards a ‘catalytic and facilitative model’ of global governance. They also signal the emergence of a ‘hybrid multilateralism’ where, in addition to governments, non-state actors – NGOs, cities, think-tanks, businesses, foundations… - are set to play a more proactive role in the international climate debate.

      In a first instance, the module will provide students with an introduction to climate politics (Weeks 1, 2 and 3). Over the course of the following weeks, we will offer “deep dives” into two climate-related topics: Arctic politics and cities as climate actors (with a focus on Paris)

      There is not preferred textbook for this module. A useful resource for students (and non-students!) interested in the academic/scientific/political debates is Mike Hulme's edited volume: Contemporary Climate Change Debates: A Student Primer (2020, Routledge). It is a little expensive but a worthwhile investment (I have ordered copies of the book for the library). 

        


    • Module assessment:

      • Podcast (40%) 
      • 2000 word essay (60%)

    • UG Coursework coversheet File
      27.5 KB
    • ULIP UG Marking Criteria for student participation and engagement Oct 2022 File
      673.3 KB
    • ULIP Marking criteria written File
      294.4 KB
    • UG COURSEWORK COVERSHEET FEEDBACK SHEET File
      29.6 KB
    • Assessments File
      18.4 KB
    • Essay - 60% of grade Assignment

  • WEEK 1 - Introduction (Dr. Edouard Morena)

  • WEEK 2 - Climate Justice: Actors, debates and strategies deployed at te international level (Guest speaker: Anabella Rosemberg)

    • In this session, we will welcome Anabella Rosemberg, Senior Advisor on Just Transition at the Climate Action Network International. 

      Anabella will be joining us for two weeks (Weeks 2 and 3) to share her insights into how climate justice is framed and discussed within the UN climate negotiations process. 



    • Required reading:  

    • Aykut, Stefan, Edouard Morena and Jean Foyer (2020), ‘“Incantatory governance: global climate politics’ performative turn and its wider significance for global politics’, in International Politics

    • Okereke, Chukwumerije (2010), ‘Climate justice and the international regime’, in WIREs Climate Change, Vol. 1, pp.462-474 File
      6.5 MB

    • Recommended: 

      • Huber, Matthew T. (2020), ‘Ecology at the point of production: climate change and class struggle’, Polygraph, August, pp.23-43

      • Morena, Edouard, Dunja Krause and Dimitris Stevis (2020), Just Transitions: Social Justice in the Shift Towards a Low-Carbon World, London: Pluto

      • Klein Naomi (2019), On Fire: The Burning Case for a Green New Deal, Allen Lane

      • Aronoff, Kate, Alyssa Battistoni, Daniel Aldana Cohen and Thea Riofrancos (2019), A Planet to Win: Why we need a Green New Deal, London: Verso

      • Stevis, Dimitris and Romain Felli (2015), ‘Global labour unions and just transition to a green economy’, in International Environmental Agreements, 15, pp.29–43, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10784-014-9266-1


    • ULIP-IntroToClimateJustice File
      7.2 MB

  • WEEK 3 - The example of a concept in dispute: Just Transition (Guest speaker: Anabella Rosemberg)

  • WEEK 4 - Arctic geopolitics (Eda Ayaydin)

    • We will explore the sovereignty issues pertaining to the Arctic region hydrocarbon resources and shipping routes, alongside a comparative analysis of diverse discourses and perceptions held by both Arctic and non-Arctic stakeholders. Furthermore, we will engage in a discussion pertaining to one of the central debates in the Arctic; the question of cooperation and conflict.


    • Required reading:

    • Wilson Rowe, Elena (2021), ‘Ecosystemic politics: Analyzing the consequences of speaking for adjacent nature on the global stage’, Political Geography, Volume 91. File
      1.4 MB

    • Recommended: 

      • Lasserre, Frédéric (2012), Geopolitics and Shipping Development in the Arctic, Ocean Yearbook, Brill. 

    • Arctic Geopolitics File
      2.9 MB

  • WEEK 5 - Governance and actors: Arctic council (Eda Ayaydin)

    • This session will center on fundamental concepts of governance and its various types. We will specifically focus on environmental governance, ocean governance, and indigenous governance.


    • Required reading:  

    • Stokke, Olav Schram (2023), ‘Climate Change and Institutional Resilience in Arctic Environmental Governance’, Politics and Governance, https://doi.org/10.17645/pag.7369 File
      8.2 MB

    • Recommended:  

      • Raspotnik, Andreas & Adam Stępień (2023), ‘The European Union’s polar ambitions: regional geo-policies yet limited geo-strategic vision’, Journal of European Integration, 45(8), pp.1181-1197.



    • Arctic Governance File
      2.3 MB
    • Governance 2 File
      6.5 MB

  • WEEK 6 - Science diplomacy (Eda Ayaydin)

  • WEEK 7 - READING WEEK

  • WEEK 8 - Non-Arctic interests (Eda Ayaydin)

    • In the discourse surrounding Arctic and non-Arctic states/actors, we will delve into geo-epistemological critiques. Initially, our attention will be directed towards bifurcations that have arisen within the field of International Relations, such as Western versus non-Western perspectives and national versus international considerations. Subsequently, we will shift our focus to the Arctic and non-Arctic divide, with a specific emphasis on empirical cases like China's interest in the Arctic. As we analyze these actors, we will also explore the monopolies of knowledge within the defined boundaries of the discipline of International Politics.


    • Required reading:  

    • Volpe, Marco (2023), ‘High seas triggering Arctic security? An analysis of Chinese domestic discourse on the Central Arctic Ocean’, Arctic Yearbook. File
      47.3 MB

    • Recommended: 

      • Barkawi, Tarak, Christopher Murray & Ayse Zarakol (2023), 'The United Nations of IR: power, knowledge, and empire in Global IR debates', International Theory, 15(3), pp.445-461


    • 4- Arctic Politics File
      5.7 MB

  • WEEK 9 - Cities in international climate politics (Dr. Edouard Morena)

    During this session we will focus on how cities contribute to and are impacted by climate change. We will also look at their particular role in international climate politics.


  • WEEK 10 - Paris and the climate crisis (Dr. Edouard Morena)

  • WEEK 11 - Green gentrification

    • In this class, we will focus on the concept of green/environmental gentrification and begin to explore the ways in which it manifests itself in Paris.


    • Required reading: 

    • Pearsall, Hamil (2018), ‘New directions in urban environmental/green gentrification research’, in Lees, Loretta (ed.), Handbook of Gentrification Studies, Edward Elgar, pp.329-345 File
      12.6 MB

    • Recommended:

      •  Rice, Jennifer L., Daniel Aldana Cohen, Joshua Long and Jason R. Jurjevich (2019), ‘Contradictions of the climate-friendly city: new perspectives on eco-gentrification and housing justice’, in International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, DOI: 10.1111/1468-2427.12740
      • Aldana Cohen, Daniel (2016), “Petro Gotham, People’s Gotham”, in Solnit, R. nd J. Jelly-Shapiro (eds.), Nonstop Metropolis: A New York Atlas, University of California Press, pp.46-55.
      • Anguelovski, Isabelle & James J.T. Connolly (eds.) (2022), The Green City and Social Injustice: 21 Tales from North America and Europe, London: Routledge
      • Anguelovski, Isabelle (2017), “Retracted: Urban Greening as the Ultimate Urban Environmental Justice Tragedy?”, in Planning Theory, 16(1).
      • Checker, Melissa (2011), “Wiped Out by the ‘Greenwave’: Environmental Gentrification and the Paradoxical Politics of Urban Sustainability,” in City & Society, 23(2).
      • Clerval, Anne (2013), Paris sans le peuple, La Découverte.
      • Hodson, Mike, and Simon Marvin (2010), “Urbanism in the Anthropocene: Ecological Urbanism or Premium Ecological Enclaves?”, in City, 14(3), pp. 298-313.
      • Wacksmuth, David, Daniel Aldana Cohen, and Hillary Angelo (2016), “Expand the frontiers of urban sustainability”, in Nature, 536, pp.391-393.

    • WEEK 11 Gentrification File
      14.3 MB

  • WEEK 12 - The Paris Olympics