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17403-01 - Seminar: Governance, Sustainable Development and Democracy (3 CP)
| Semester | spring semester 2025 |
| Course frequency | Every spring sem. |
| Lecturers | Charline Depoorter (charline.depoorter@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | Against the backdrop of persistent problems of unsustainability, there is a 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? What are the empirical conditions as well as prospects and barriers of democratic forms of governance for sustainable development within various political contexts? And, what are the implications of environmental change for the ways governance and democracy can be organized at and across spatial and temporal scales? 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. Second, specific approaches of governance for sustainable development will be critically discussed particularly with regard to their democratic implications. Third, a number of case studies of sustainability governance in different fields 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 | Relevant literature tba during the seminar. |
| Comments | Please note entry requirements and mandatory course application procedure (additional to ennrollment on online services). MSD 2017 Mandatory for students with focus area in natural sciences and in economics (unless you have passed a similar class in a former semester, then you would have to subtitute it by agreement with Prof. Dr. Janina Grabs and fix this in a learning agreement). For students with focus area in social sciences this seminar is optional for the "Core Competences in Social Scienes" module. They may accredit the credit points for the published module or transfer them to the "Focal Areas in Sustainability Research" module (learning agreement). This seminar is offered by the MSD. Dr. Charline Depoorter is a post doc in the Sustainability Research Group, Dep. of Social Sciences, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. |
| Admission requirements | Special course application required (for details see "course application" or "Anmeldung"). Limited number of participants (25): For students of the MSD with the focus area in natural sciences or economics the seminar is mandatory. These students and those of the JIDSD have a first priority. Students of the MSD with the focus area in social sciences have a second priority, those of the listed programs (see list of modules) have a third priority. If you don't study the MSD or one of the listed programs you must do a master's degree within the Department of Social Sciences/Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences and may attend the seminar in case of vacancies (= priority level four). Content related participation REQUIREMENTS for NON-MSD/IJDSD-students: They must have passed succesfully one of the following lectures (= credit points already acquired) during a former semester: - 11513: Sustainability: A new Societal Paradigm? - 41829: Perspectives of Social Sciences on Sustainability. |
| Course application | Please note entry requirements. For details see section "admission requirements". Mandatory application for ALL! Link open from 15.01.25/noon-04.02.25/midnight: NOTE: Link only guides to the ADAM website. You have to DO THE LOGIN to get access to the survey. First emails with confirmation of participation will be sent out at the end of the first deadline. In case of vacancies the online application LINK remains OPEN until 27.02.35/noon. Course enrollment on online services should be completed by the beginning of the teaching period (withdrawal possible until Monday of teaching week five). |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | No specific media used |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|---|
| wöchentlich | Wednesday | 12.15-14.00 | Bernoullistrasse 14/16, Seminarraum 02.004 |
Dates
| Modules |
Module: Complementary Knowledge in Social Sciences (Master's Studies: Sustainable Development) Module: Core Competences in Social Sciences (Master's Studies: Sustainable Development) Module: Fields: Governance and Politics (Master's degree program: African Studies) Module: Resources and Sustainability (Master's degree program: Changing Societies: Migration – Conflicts – Resources) Specialization Module Global Europe: Environment and Sustainability (Master's Studies: European Global Studies) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment details | Compulsory attendance in presence, required readings, oral presentation, essay. Details according to information of lecturer. |
| Assessment registration/deregistration | Reg.: course registration, dereg: cancel course registration |
| 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 |