Study Guide

Objective

The student:
- has skills to plan, manage and realize participation in processes to avoid conflicts
- understands how conflicts begin and is able to discuss values and attitudes with different stakeholders
- is able to handle conflicts in a professional and constructive manner

Content

- Participatory methods
- Proactive conflict management
- Different types of conflicts and ways to solve them

Further information

The main topics of the course are:
• Global environmental trends
• Global environmental governance
• Conflict resolution challenges
• United Nations Climate Change Conferences (COP)
• Negotiation of multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs)
• Domestic resource mobilisation in developing countries
• Cross-national cultural differences and their implications for negotiations, participatory processes and conflict management.
During classes, we will discuss real stories from different domains of environmental and natural resources challenges (e.g. political, social, economics) and compare different reactions across cultures and nations. Using the theories of dimensions of national culture, we will analyse the effect of cultural differences on plausible miscommunications or policy failures and discuss how to manage/avoid these challenges. Furthermore, we will discuss the procedure and methods of climate and environmental negotiations.

Evaluation scale

H-5

Assessment criteria, satisfactory (1)

50-60% or 60-70% of the maximum number of credits in the assignments earned, respectively.

Assessment criteria, good (3)

70-80% or 80-90% of the maximum number of credits in the assignments earned, respectively.

Assessment criteria, excellent (5)

90-100% of the maximum number of credits in the assignments earned.

Assessment methods and criteria

The assessment of the course is based on class activities, group work, assignments and a final essay

Qualifications

No previous knowledge requirements