Summer Programme on International Affairs and Multilateral Governance Programme Details

The Summer Programme on International Affairs and Multilateral Governance explores key issues in international affairs with a substantive focus on the three following areas:

Week 1: Security, Human Rights and Humanitarian Action 

This module focuses on the interactions between states and individuals within an increasingly legalised international context. It explores recent efforts to provide international humanitarian assistance (in cases of natural disasters or civil wars). The programme also focuses on international efforts to control the spread of weapons as well as on mechanisms for conflict resolution between states.

The importance of international organisations will be examined, such as International Red Cross, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the UN Council of Human Rights, as well as the UN Security Council and UN General Assembly and the International Court of Justice.

The programme will also evaluate the role of NGOs and private initiatives on the protection of individual rights and the promotion of human security.

Lectures and discussions focus on challenges for multilateral governance in these areas, including questions of efficiency, legitimacy, or accountability carising from differences in international institutions and regulation. Classes will meet from Monday to Friday; about 5h30 per day. Three hours in the morning will be devoted to  lectures for all participants in the Summer Programme. The afternoon will be devoted to 2h30-seminars conducted in smaller groups of about 15-20 students. Morning lectures will provide students with key concepts and analytical tools, while the afternoon seminars will help students use those tools and apply them to specific empirical situations. Afternoon sessions will also include on-site visits to international organisations and practical exercises such as simulations. Total class time for the course will be approximately 81 hours (or 27 hours per week).

Week 2: Global Public Goods: Health and Environment 

This module highlights the increasing importance of global management of transnational issues such as health and the environment.
The course will develop the concept of global public goods and new governance mechanisms such as public-private partnerships and apply it to environmental and health issues.
Lectures will discuss international efforts to respond to global warming. Topics include an analysis of the importance and role of the Kyoto protocol, access to water, as well as discussions on the role of UNEP in a world with an increasing number of environmental agreements. The module also address post Kyoto negotiations and how the multilateral system might be adapted to respond more adequately to new challenges in this area.
On the health side, it will considers the emerging discipline of Global Health Diplomacy – the negotiation processes that shape and manage the global policy environment for health as well as recent international discussions and negotiations on health regulations. 

Week 3: Global Migration, Cooperation and Development

There are about 200 million international migrants in the world today, comprising 3.0 per cent of the world population. Increased migration has been one of the main effects of Globalization in the last few decades, making the governance of global migration a fundamental issue of international politics.

Nevertheless, the legal and institutional architecture of global migration governance remains fragmented and cooperation between States, though a crucial element is still rudimentary. This is particularly the case as regards migration and development issues and other important challenges of the day.

This thematic module provides an interdisciplinary approach to the study of these issues and allows students to acquire knowledge and key analytical tools for understanding current and future international migration challenges.


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