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17403-01 - Seminar: Governance, Sustainable Development and Democracy (3 CP)
| Semester | spring semester 2015 |
| Course frequency | Irregular |
| Lecturers | Basil Bornemann (basil.bornemann@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | Against the backdrop of persistent problems of unsustainability, there is lively debate both in politics and in science on how to govern societies towards more sustainable pathways. In conceptual terms this debate increasingly builds on the notion of 'governance' which highlights both theoretical limits to classical models of political steering and the empirical insight that governments are not the only relevant actors when it comes to the management of societal issues. Instead, at least within the context of modern democracies, the contested, interdependent and dynamic nature of contemporary policymaking has given rise to less hierarchical but more collaborative and polycentric forms of governance. Accordingly, for theoretical and empirical reasons, the governance of modern societies is more and more understood as a shared responsibility of the state, the market and the civil society. This 'new governance complexity' is assumed to entail potentials and threats for sustainable development and democracy throwing up some fundamental questions regarding the relationship between all three concepts: How can societies be governed towards sustainable development in a democratic way? What are the normative and functional requirements of sustainability governance in democratic societies? And what are the empirical conditions as well as prospects and barriers of democratic forms of governance for sustainable development within various political contexts? The seminar addresses the relationship between governance, sustainable development and democracy in theoretical and empirical respects. First, it will lay a theoretical fundament by introducing the concepts of governance, sustainable development and democracy. Secondly, specific approaches of governance for sustainable development will be critically discussed particularly with regard to their democratic implications. Thirdly, a number of case studies of sustainability governance in different fields such as energy, agriculture and transport (or others) will provide an opportunity to analyze the democratic problem-solving capacity of different governance arrangements in various contexts. Finally, further theoretical and practical perspectives of democratic governance for sustainable development are sketched out. |
| Learning objectives | The participants - are familiar with the concepts 'governance', 'sustainable development' and 'democracy', they understand the interrelations and tensions between them; - have acquired basic theoretical, methodological and empirical knowledge and skills necessary to produce critically reflected scientific analyses of governance for sustainable development within various policy fields and political contexts. |
| Bibliography | Adger, Neil W./Jordan, Andrew (Hg.) 2009: Governing sustainability. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Ayre, Georgina/Callway, Rosalie 2005: Governing for sustainable development. A foundation for the future. London: Earthscan. Brand, Karl-Werner (Hg.) 2002: Politik der Nachhaltigkeit. Voraussetzungen, Probleme, Chancen - eine kritische Diskussion. Berlin: Edition Sigma. Brozus, Lars/Take, Ingo/Wolf, Klaus Dieter 2003: Vergesellschaftung des Regierens? Der Wandel nationaler und internationaler politischer Steuerung unter dem Leitbild der nachhaltigen Entwicklung. Opladen: Leske + Budrich. Brunnengräber, Achim/Walk, Heike (Hg.) 2007: Multi-Level-Governance. Klima-, Umwelt- und Sozialpolitik in einer interdependenten Welt. Baden-Baden: Nomos. Lafferty, William M. (Hg.) 2004: Governance for Sustainable Development: The Challenge of Adapting Form to Function. Cheltenham, UK/Northhampton, MA: Edward Elgar. Newig, Jens/Voß, Jan-Peter/Monstadt, Jochen (Hg.) 2008: Governance for sustainable development. Coping with ambivalence, uncertainty and distributed power. London: Routledge. Petschow, Ulrich/Rosenau, James/Weizsäcker, Ernst U. von (Hg.) 2005: Governance and sustainability. New challenges for states, companies and civil society. Sheffield: Greenleaf. Steurer, Reinhard/Trattnigg, Rita (Hg.) 2010: Nachhaltigkeit regieren: eine Bilanz zu Governance-Prinzipien und -Praktiken. München: Oekom Verlag. Voß, Jan-Peter/Bauknecht, Dierk/Kemp, René (Hg.) 2006: Reflexive Governance for Sustainable Development. Cheltenham, UK/Northhampton, MA: Edward Elgar. A more comprehensive list of relevant literature will be provided at the beginning of the seminar. |
| Comments | Man beachte die Angaben unter Teilnahmevoraussetzung. For details regarding mandatory course inscription please see "Anmeldung". For information regarding prerequisites see 'Teilnahmevorausetzungen'. Anrechenbarkeit im MSD 2010 gemäss der publizierten Module. Im MSD 2010 können Studierende mit Studienvariante Phil.-Hist. diese LV nach Absprache mit P. Burger mittels LC für den Vertiefungsbereich Phil.-Hist. anrechnen lassen. Dies ist ein Angebot vom MSD. Dr. B. Bornemann ist Mitarbeiter im Fachbereich Nachhaltigkeitsforschung. |
| Admission requirements | Angaben auf Deutsch siehe unten. English version: The participants who do not study the MSD or IJDSD must have passed succesfully one of the following lectures (or a similar one) (= credit points already acquired): '11513: Nachhaltigkeit: Ein neues gesellschaftliches Paradigma?' oder '11508: Grundkurs I: Kultur- und sozialwissenschaftliche Grundlagen der Nachhaltigkeit' (fall semester), oder '12882: Grundkurs III: Grundlagenreflexion der Nachhaltigkeitswissenschaft' (spring semester) or something similar. Special course inscription required for ALL (for details see "Anmeldung"). Course inscription via ISIS, email, or in a different way ARE NOT taken in account. Limited number of participants (25), Students of the MSD, the IJDSD and the above mentioned fields of studies (see "Module") have priority. Students of other fields of study have to be registered in a master degree within the "Phil.-Hist." faculty. * Angaben auf Deutsch: Inhaltliche Teilnahmevoraussetzungen für Studierende, die nicht den MSD oder IJDSD studieren: Grundlagenkenntnisse wie sie etwa in der Vorlesung '11513: Nachhaltigkeit: Ein neues gesellschaftliches Paradigma?' oder '11508: Grundkurs I: Kultur- und sozialwissenschaftliche Grundlagen der Nachhaltigkeit' (jeweils HS), oder '12882: Grundkurs III: Grundlagenreflexion der Nachhaltigkeitswissenschaft' (im FS) vermittelt werden. Dies wird bei der Anmeldung abgefragt! Die Anmeldung erfolgt über ein spezielles Online-Formular und ist für ALLE erforderlich (Details siehe unter Anmeldung). Anmeldungen über ISIS, OLAT, per Email oder in einer anderen Form werden NICHT berücksichtigt. Teilnehmer/innen-Anzahl (25) begrenzt, Studierende vom MSD, dem IDJSD und den verknüpften Studienrichtungen haben Vorrang. Alle anderen studieren ein Phil.-Hist. Masterfach. |
| Course application | Anmeldung über Online-Formular zwingend: geschlosse Mandatory registration for ALL: closed http://flexiform2.unibas.ch/formular.cfm?EID=2340 ACHTUNG: Belegen über MonA bleibt zwingend/NOTE: course inscription via MonA remains an obligation. |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | Online, mandatory |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
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No dates available. Please contact the lecturer.
| Modules |
Modul Aufbaubereich gesellschaftswissenschaftliche Fragen von Nachhaltigkeit (Master Sustainable Development) Modul Culture and Society (Master's degree program: African Studies (Start of studies before 01.08.2013)) Modul Fields: Governance and Politics (Master's degree program: African Studies) Modul Internationales Zusatzwissen (Master European Studies (Start of studies before 01.02.2015)) Modul Kernbereich Gesellschaftswissenschaftliche Nachhaltigkeitsforschung (Master Sustainable Development) Modul Politik und Entwicklung (Master's degree subject: Sociology (Start of studies before 01.08.2013)) Vertiefungsmodul Global Europe: Umwelt und Nachhaltigkeit (Master European Global Studies) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment details | Regular attendance, required reading, oral presentation, essay. |
| Assessment registration/deregistration | Reg.: course registration; dereg.: not required |
| Repeat examination | no repeat examination |
| Scale | 1-6 0,1 |
| Repeated registration | as often as necessary |
| Responsible faculty | University of Basel |
| Offered by | Fachbereich Nachhaltigkeitsforschung |