Geopolitics of the Climate Crisis - JTM663

• Title: Geopolitics of the Climate Crisis
• Czech title: Geopolitika klimatické změny
• Guaranteed by: Department of European Studies (23-KZS)
• Faculty: Faculty of Social Sciences
• Actual: from 2023
• Semester: summer
• E-Credits: 6
• Examination process: summer s.:
• Hours per week, examination: summer s.:1/1, Ex [HT]
• Capacity: 25 / unknown (22)
• Min. number of students: unlimited
• 4EU+: no
• Virtual mobility / capacity: no
• State of the course: taught
• Language: English
• Teaching methods: full-time
• Note: course can be enrolled in outside the study plan; enabled for web enrollment; priority enrollment if the course is part of the study plan
• Guarantor: Mgr. Ing. Magdalena Fiřtová, Ph.D.
• Teacher(s): Mgr. Ing. Magdalena Fiřtová, Ph.D.
• Class: Courses for incoming students

Annotation

The evolving geopolitical landscape in response to climate change represents an exceptionally relevant and pressing framework for policy-making. Climate change is undeniably a part of a complex web of multiple crises that humanity is currently facing. Climate change is no longer merely an environmental issue; it is a complex and all-encompassing challenge that demands a nuanced policy response.
This course covers a wide range of geopolitical themes, examining them from the perspectives of both state and non-state actors. The course places particular emphasis on the roles of key actors in addressing the climate crisis, exploring alternative policy approaches, solutions to climate change, and their geopolitical impacts.
The course syllabus is structured to provide a comprehensive exploration of the multifaceted climate change crisis. It covers various critical dimensions, including climate justice, economic and financial considerations, food security, biodiversity, global security, geoengineering, and global governance. Addressing climate change requires a holistic and interconnected approach, coupled with the development of practical skills to navigate the complexities of this global challenge.

Under the academic coordination and pedagogical guidance of the Institute of International Studies (FSV UK), the course is designed and taught in cooperation with the climate team of AMO (Association for International Affairs).

Lecturer: Magdalena Firtova
Email: [e-mail]
Classes: Thursday 12:30 – 13:50
Room: C420, Jinonice Campus
Office Hours: Thursdays 10-12:00, Room C418, or via Zoom. Please book your time slot at www.konzultace.fsv.cuni.cz

AMO Coordinator: Kristina Zindulkova
Emial: [e-mail]


Moodle page of this course:https://dl1.cuni.cz/enrol/index.php?id=15776

Last update: Fiřtová Magdalena, Mgr. Ing., Ph.D. (03.02.2025)

Aim of the course

The aim of the course is to foster a comprehensive understanding and assessment of this critical global challenge and transfer highly relevant knowledge about governance, politics, and policy of climate crisis.

Students will gain the skill to write a policy brief in a collaborative manner for valuable career employment and will also receive training in negotiation and diplomacy on a small-scale platform. They will learn how to choose the most effective conflict resolution approach to a dispute. These skills are not only relevant for career employment but are crucial for effectively addressing the multifaceted challenges posed by climate change.

Last update: Fiřtová Magdalena, Mgr. Ing., Ph.D. (11.01.2024)

Literature

Latour, Bruno. (2017). Down to Earth: Politics in the New Climatic Regime. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.
Burke, A., Fishel, S., Dalby, S., & Levine, D. J. (2016). Planet Politics†̄: A Manifesto from the End of IR. Millennium: Journal of International Studies, 44(3). doi:10.1126/sciadv.1400253
Dalby, S. (2014). Environmental Geopolitics in the Twenty First Century, Alternatives: Global, Local, Political 39 (1).
Dryzek, J. (2015). Institutions for the Anthropocene: Governance in a Changing Earth System. British Journal of Political Science, Novembre. doi: 10.1017/S000712341400045

Monbiot, George. 2017. Out of the Wreckage: A New Politics for an Age of Crisis. London: Verso
Mann, Geoff and Joel Wainwright. (2018) Climate Leviathan: A Political Theory of Our Planetary Future. NY: Verso.
Shannon O'Lear, Simon Dalby (2016). Reframing Climate Change:, Constructing ecological geopolitics. Routledge.

Last update: Fiřtová Magdalena, Mgr. Ing., Ph.D. (11.01.2024)

Teaching methods

Lectures and simulation.

Last update: Fiřtová Magdalena, Mgr. Ing., Ph.D. (11.01.2024)

Syllabus

Updated version of the syllabus, including the mandatory readings is available in the Moodle course here

Block 1: Introduction to Geopolitics of Climate Crisis 

20.2. - Introduction: Climate crisis as a (geo)political problem (Tomáš Jungwirth Březovský)

27.2. - Global and regional power dynamics in the UNFCCC process (Romana Jungwirth Březovská)

6.3. - History of climate knowledge and disinformation (Vojtěch Pecka)

13.3. - Discussion: geopolitics of polycrisis, global perspective (Tomáš Jungwirth Březovský)

Blok 2: Ways Forward 

20.3. - Technological perspective: energy transition, geoengineering or something else? (Oldřich Sklenář)

27.3. - Societal /economic perspective on transition (Ondřej Kolínský)

3.4. - Degrowth, extractivism and activism (Nina Djukanović)

10.4. - Discussion: Green transformation - opportunities, challenges and limits (Ondřej Kolínský)

Blok 3: Critical Perspectives and Preparations for Simulation

17.4. - Decolonising food systems: towards just agroecological transition (Barbora Chmelová)

24.4.. - CBAM and carbon markets for simulations / Nordhaus / justice (Kristina Zindulková)

15.5. - TBC

22.5. - Discussion: closing session (Kristina Zindulková)

Last update: Fiřtová Magdalena, Mgr. Ing., Ph.D. (03.02.2025)