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70816-01 - Seminar: Sustainability Governance in International Value Chains (3 CP)
| Semester | spring semester 2026 |
| Course frequency | Irregular |
| Lecturers | Charline Depoorter (charline.depoorter@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | Child labor, deforestation, environmental pollution, human rights abuses - there are many sustainability issues in international value chains that need to be solved. This interdisciplinary seminar gives an overview of governance tools that governments, NGOs and private actors have developed to improve the economic, social and environmental sustainability of international production and consumption. From international trade agreements to local fisheries councils, from Fair Trade certifications to public-private partnerships, we will study the accomplishments and shortcomings of many real-world mechanisms on different levels of the global-local and public-private spectrums. The literature covered will include approaches from political science, international law, business ethics and economics that critically examine questions of legitimacy, effectiveness, and representativeness of existing approaches. We will also incorporate many current issues into our discussions. |
| Learning objectives | On completion of this course, students should be able to: - Demonstrate an understanding of the justification for the involvement of public and private actors in governing sustainability in international value chains (WHY should sustainability be governed?) - Examine the advantages and drawbacks of public vs. private and global vs. local approaches at governing sustainability (WHO should govern sustainability?) - Critically evaluate the appropriateness and success of different governance mechanisms, employing concepts such as legitimacy, effectiveness, deliberative capacity, and representativeness (HOW should sustainability be governed?) - Summarize and critically discuss the main arguments of an academic article - Write a well-structured, in-depth essay examining a clearly stated research question, using clear and compelling arguments grounded in governance, business ethics and/or sustainability theory. |
| Bibliography | A detailed list will be provided in class. For a general overview see titles listed below: - Auld, G., Bernstein, S., & Cashore, B. (2008). The new corporate social responsibility. Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 33, 413-435. - Burchell, J., & Cook, J. (2013). Sleeping with the enemy? Strategic transformations in business–NGO relationships through stakeholder dialogue. Journal of Business Ethics, 113(3), 505-518. - Lambin, E. F., & Thorlakson, T. (2018). Sustainability Standards: Interactions Between Private Actors, Civil Society, and Governments. Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 43(1), 369–393. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-environ-102017-025931 |
| Comments | Please note entry requirements and mandatory course application procedure (additional to course enrollment on online services). MSD 2017 For students with focus area in social sciences the seminar is optional for the "Core Competences in Social Scienes" module. The recognition of credit points for the "Focal Areas in Sustainability Research" module (learning agreement) is possible for all MSD students. 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 ALL (for details see section 'course application' or 'Anmeldung'). Limited number of participants (25), Students of the MSD (incl. MSD preparation semester) and JIDSD have a first priority, those of the listed programs (see list of modules) have a second priority. If you study something different 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 (= third priority). MSD 2017 We strongly recommend that MSD students who have chosen the focus area in natural sciences or in economics only take this course after having completed at least 8 CP of the “Complementary Knowledge in Social Sciences” module. We recommend that non-MSD (excl. JIDSD) students have already taken 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. If you have not passed either of these classes, you must contact the lecturer until the first day of the teaching period, i.e. in spring semester 2026 until 16. February 2026 at the latest to assess if you have sufficient background knowledge to be admitted. |
| Course application | Please note entry requirements. For details see section "admission requirements". 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 | 08.15-10.15 | Bernoullistrasse 14/16, Kleiner Seminarraum 02.001 |
| Comments | For details see section "comments" (Bemerkungen) or "dates and room" (Zeit und Ort). |
Dates
| Modules |
Modul: Erweiterung Gesellschaftswissenschaften M.A. (Master's degree subject: Political Science) Module: Core Competences in Social Sciences (Master's Studies: Sustainable Development) Module: Fields: Environment and Development (Master's degree program: African Studies) 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) Specialization Module Global Europe: Globalized Trade and Business (Master's Studies: European Global Studies) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment details | Compulsary attendance in presence, required reading, oral presentation, written 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 |