STV2547 – Political Science Approaches to Climate Action
Course content
Governments, business, and a broad range of civil society actors worldwide are engaged in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and adapting our societies to a changing climate. Despite numerous climate targets and policies, emissions are still increasing globally. While many good climate policies are effectively promoted by some corporations, activists, and politicians, other actors hinder stronger steering towards net-zero emissions in 2050.?
Coping with climate change is one of the most salient political challenges of our time. It is a major issue in international politics with myriad actors tackling, and exacerbating, this global problem. It is a pressing topic for public policy discussions and has sometimes also influenced how governments organize their public administrations. It has triggered a broad literature on comparative political science, with research showing that some political systems are better at coping with climate change than others, but also that climate action needs to be adjusted to specific political contexts. Climate governance also gives rise to a host of normative questions in political theory, sparking debates on just and democratic ways to organize climate governance processes.
The course aim to present undergraduate students with an overview of:
- Research frontiers relating to international and domestic climate policy, politics, and government
- Comparative politics discussions related to climate change, such as the role of democracy, economic development, and corruption in shaping countries’ commitments to climate change mitigation
- Political theory discussions relating to just climate transition, and ways to ensure accountable and democratic support for climate action
Learning outcome
Knowledge
You will:
Gain knowledge about scientific progress in the following areas:
- the history of climate politics, from the early 1990s and until the 2020s, globally, within the EU, and domestically
- the design of domestic climate policy portfolios: targets, instruments, administrative procedures, and organizations
- differences and similarities in climate policy portfolios across countries and over time
- factors shaping international and domestic climate policy and politics, including the role of industry, politicians and political parties, science, and activism
- ways in which material endowments, political systems, and the quality of government influence climate action across countries
Skills
You will be able to:
- specify how politics may hamper and facilitate climate action
- evaluate the effectiveness of various types of international climate collaborations
- assess the fairness and democratic legitimacy of various climate governance approaches
- understand how climate governance at international, regional, and domestic levels interact
- be able to communicate academic knowledge in writing and orally and provide constructive criticism of other students’ assignments
General competence:
You will:
- evaluate the political feasibility of climate governance ideas and initiatives
- assess the strengths and weaknesses of specific local, domestic, and international climate governance initiatives
Admission to the course
Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for?in Studentweb.
If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about?admission requirements and procedures.
This course is not available for single course students.
Teaching
Lectures and seminars.
Compulsory activities:
- Attend at least three of the five seminars
- Two oral tasks:
- present a climate policy topic
- give feedback to draft term papers
- Hand in a draft term paper?
The seminars are taught in English, and the papers handed in must be written in English.
See the faculty`s rules for reassignment of seminar groups and requirements for compulsory activities.?
Absence from compulsory activities:
If you are ill or have another valid reason for being absent from compulsory activities, your absence may be approved or the compulsory activity may be postponed.
Access to teaching:?
A student who has completed compulsory instruction and coursework and has had these approved, is not entitled to repeat that instruction and coursework, and does not have to in order to take the exam. A student who has previously been admitted to a course, but who has not completed compulsory instruction and coursework or had these approved, is entitled to repeat that instruction and coursework, depending on available capacity.
Examination
Term paper (3500 - 5000 words).
You must have passed the compulsory activities in order to sit the exam.
Language of examination
The examination text is given in English, and you submit your response in 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.
Resit an examination
More about examinations at UiO
- Use of sources and citations
- How to use AI as a student
- Special exam arrangements due to individual needs
- Withdrawal from an exam
- Illness at exams / postponed exams
- Explanation of grades and appeals
- Resitting an exam
- Cheating/attempted cheating
You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.