POL417Y1Y L0101

Global South in International Politics

Themes

This seminar aims to enhance participants’ understanding of domestic politics of the states of developing nations and how the internal political dynamics shape their foreign policy behavior and orientations through the latest thinking in International Politics, International Political Economy and Security Studies. In the first term, the course will look at the role of the “Third World” in international politics by analyzing the nature of North-South relations since their access to independence to the present. It will critically examine the nature of these complex relations including, but not limited to, dependency and interdependence, conflict and cooperation, foreign aid, remittances and investment patterns, international trade, debt, global poverty as well as the impact of globalization on the unity and bargaining power of the Global South. It will also highlight specific regimes such as democracy and human rights, environmental treaties and protocols, infectious diseases, world health, etc., around which these relations revolve. In the second term, this offering will focus mainly on the issue of peace and security in Third World by carefully examining the root causes of numerous civil wars and their consequences, the role of foreign states/actors and regional powers in preventing, managing or exacerbating them, human security and peace-building from broader theoretical and comparative perspectives.

Format and Requirements

Book review (20%); essay (25%); major essay (40%); participation and presentation (15%).

Prerequisites

POL201Y1 or (POLB90H3, POLB91H3) or POL208Y1 or POL208Y5 or (POLB80H3, POLB81H3) or POL215Y1