PSIR 221

Course Code & Number

PSIR 221

Course Title

Global Environmental Issues

Level

BS

Credit Hours/ ECTS Credits

(3+0+0) 3 TEDU Credits, 6 ECTS Credits

Year of Study:

Sophomore

Semester:

Fall

Type of Course:

Elective

Mode of Delivery:

Face-to-face

Language of Instruction:

English

Pre-requisite / Co-requisite:

Catalog Description

Global environmental issues and policies. Capitalist growth strategies and environmental problems. International conservation conventions and states’ policies. Civil societal initiatives.

Course Objectives

This course aims to provide the students with an environmental perspective in the International Relations area. It gives an overview of local, national, international and global environmental issues and policies.

Course Learning Outcomes

Upon succesful completion of this course, a student will be able to
1. Apply an environmental perspective for International Relations
2. Discuss the connection between the historical enclosure movement and today’s capitalist expansion 
3. Describe the relationship between capitalist growth strategies and environmental degradation
4. Explain environmental problems like deforestation, desertification, pollution, urbanization, industrialization
5. Recite international conventions for conservation and various states’ policies
6. Critically evaluate sustainable development and interdependency
7. Analyze global civil society initiatives and civil movements on environmental protection

Recommended Reading

1. Timothy M. Swanson (ed.), The Economics and Ecology of Biodiversity Decline: The Forces Driving Global Change (Cambridge, 1998). 2. United Nations, Comprehensive Assessment of the Freshwater Resources of the World (United Nations, 1997). 3. Marc W. Zacher (ed.), The International Political Economy of Natural Resources (Edward Elgar, 1993).