Ph.D. in Global Governance

Joint University Program with an Interdisciplinary Focus

The world faces increasingly complex problems that have taken on global significance - including conflict and peace-building, humanitarian crises and intervention, international economic inequality and instability, and global environmental change. How are these problems addressed at the global level? And are the mechanisms adopted to address them effective and just?

The Ph.D. in Global Governance (offered jointly by Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Waterloo) is a unique opportunity for interdisciplinary examination of power and authority in the global arena. Graduate students in the program examine the variety of actors, institutions, ideas, rules, and processes that contribute to the management of global society. In addition to international organizations and inter-state relations, the study of global governance examines the various non-state actors as well as the realities of contemporary life that contribute to the establishment and functioning of global rules, norms and institutions. The Global Governance Ph.D. program interrogates the concepts, tools, and assumptions that have served scholars in the past and assesses new approaches for addressing contemporary and future challenges.

“As an international student from Brazil, I have benefitted tremendously from being involved in academic and policy debates with northern counterparts, while receiving unremitting support on my research on South America. Effectual North-South dialogue is the cornerstone of any just international system of governance, and I believe this Ph.D. program will prepare me to contribute on this front.”

- J. Ricardo Tranjan, Global Governance Ph.D. Graduate (2012)

Program Information

The Ph.D. in Global Governance requires the completion of 6 courses and the following program milestones: two comprehensive examinations, research seminars, dissertation proposal, dissertation/dissertation defence. The expected time to completion is four years.

Course Requirements All students must complete six courses, including the following four mandatory courses: the global governance core course, an economics component, the history component, and the Research Seminar. Students are required to maintain an overall average of 80% in the course phase.

Core Course component (must be completed in the first term of registration in the program)

• GGOV 700 Globalization and Global Governance (UW registration)
• GV 710 Globalization and Global Governance (WLU registration)

Economics Component

• GV 730 Economic Analysis and Global Governance (WLU registration)
• Econ 637 Economic Analysis and Global Governance (UW registration)
• or equivalent (students who have higher than second year macro/micro economics are required to take an economics course other than GV 730/Econ 637)

History Component

• HIST 605 Global Governance in Historical Perspective (UW registration)
• GV720 The History of Global Governance (WLU registration)

Research Seminar

• GGOV 701 Research Seminar (UW registration)
• GV 701 Research Seminar (WLU registration)

Specializing Students must choose to specialize in one of the six fields of the program. To prepare for the comprehensive exam in that field, they must select at least two courses from their chosen field. Of these two, at least one course must be a course identified as “core” for that field.

Global Political Economy This field is concerned with the governance of the global economy and contemporary issues in international economic relations. Courses in this stream focus on the theoretical and public policy debates relating to governance of the global economy, as well as the evolution of international trade policy. Topics covered include: international finance and intellectual property rights; labour and environmental standards; the control of illicit economic activity; the removal of tariffs on goods and services; and current efforts to integrate services, investment, and intellectual property into the trading regime through the increasing overlap of trade policy with monetary, competition, cultural, environmental and labour policies.

Global Environment This field is concerned with the global governance of environmental issues. Courses in this stream examine contemporary dilemmas relating to the ways in which environmental challenges are being addressed and managed by multiple agents through a range of transnational institutions and governance structures, both existing and proposed. Conceptual issues and debates, set within the context of a variety of internationally significant sustainability challenges, are investigated. Multilevel governance of these challenges at the international, regional, national and local levels are examined. Key topics covered include: global climate change, agriculture and food security, international water resource management and environmental aspects of the global economy.

Conflict and Security This field is concerned with the referent objects of security and associated threats; the causes and management of conflict; and the global governance challenges of human, state, societal, national, international, ecospheric, and global security. Courses in this stream examine the theory and practice of security at all levels of analysis.

Global Justice and Human Rights This field is concerned with the study of the relationship between global governance and issues of global justice and human rights. Courses in this stream explore themes such as: the practical and ethical challenges that international human rights and relief organizations encounter when operating in the global south; theoretical approaches to understanding global justice as a contemporary social justice issue, with a particular focus on the cultural constructs relating to conceptions of freedom, obligation, and community; and contemporary debates in the field of human rights, such as those related to cultural relativism and universal human rights, human rights and foreign policy, the place of economic rights, the relationship between gender and human rights, and human rights and retrospective justice.

Multilateral Institutions and Diplomacy This field is concerned with the formal and informal practices, institutions and organizations which generate global governance. Courses in this stream focus primarily on the theory, practice and machinery of international organization, public policy, and diplomacy. Topics covered include organization theory, multilateral co-operation, foreign policy, diplomatic history, global social and public policy, representation and negotiation.

Global Social Governance This field examines the prospects for the supranational governance of social issues with a particular focus on the political and philosophical underpinnings of transnational social policy cooperation. Topics covered include: the implicit and explicit prescriptions for and impact upon national social policy of intergovernmental organisations (such as the UN and Bretton Woods Institutions), international non-governmental organisations and international private actors (such as TNCs and consultancy companies); the contribution of supranational organisations, international NGOs and other global actors to the global discourse on social policy; the role of private actors and global public-private partnerships in global health policy; the development of systems of transnational social redistribution, social regulation and social provision and empowerment; and the methods and concepts used by development agencies to assess the social policy of countries and shape their interventions.

2012-2013 Course Offerings

Core Global Governance Courses
GGOV 700/GV 710 Global Governance (core Political Science requirement), Instructor: Dr. Patricia Goff (fall 2012)
This course provides an overview of current scholarly debates relating to the interdisciplinary study of global governance in the context of globalizaiton. It examines competing perspectives on globalization and global governance, and explores the sources and consequences of global power and authority, as well as the key actors, institutions, regimes, and norms of global governance. This course is open only to students in the Ph.D. in Global Governance program. 

GGOV 701/GV 701 Research Methods, Instructor: Dr. Thomas Homer-Dixon (winter 2013)
The course exposes students to various methodological approaches and debates among them in order to help students develop the ability to professionally assess academic work as well as to prepare their own dissertation research. The course examines such topics as statistical methods for the social sciences, issues in methods and methodology, case selection, critical assessment, and proposal writing.

Economics Component
ECON 637(UW)/GV 730 (WLU) Economic Analysis and Global Governance, Instructor: Ms. Nafeez Fatima (winter 2013)
This is the core economics course for the graduate program in Global Governance. The class will cover the basic theories of international trade and international finance, as essential stepping stones for an informed analysis of global economic issues. After establishing these foundations, the class will move on to discuss international policy issues. The inefficiency of the lack of cooperation in international trade policy making and the need for multilateral negotiations have long been recognized. However, there is still a significant amount of debate with respect to the specific features of the multilateral trading architecture. The importance of coordination on monetary and financial issues is emphasized by the fragility of the current system. This is showcased by the frequency and rapid global contagion characterizing modern financial crises, and in view of the most recent episodes especially, is a topic of vivid contention. Chronic underdevelopment in many areas of the world is also recognized as a global issue requiring global solutions, while international environmental coordination is becoming increasingly regarded as a precondition for effectively addressing issues ranging from transboundary resource depletion to global warming. These will constitute the main policy areas explored in the second part of the course.

History Component
HIST 605(UW)/GV 720 (WLU) The History of Global Governance, Instructor: Dr. Daniel Gorman (fall 2012)
This course examines the various ways global actors have identified and tried to solve global problems in the twentieth century. We will study the interactions between international organizations, state actors, non-governmental organizations, and informal interest groups as they have confronted global issues such as war, immigration, international trade, human rights, and environmental and health crises.

Global Political Economy
*GGOV 610/PSCI 688 (UW)/GV 731 (WLU) Governance of the Global Economy, Instructor: Dr. Eric Helleiner (winter 2013)
A survey of the theoretical and public policy debates relating to regulation of the global economy, examined through case studies ranging from international banking an intellectual property rights, to labour and environmental standards and the control of illicit economic activity.

GGOV 611/PSCI 689 (UW) Emerging Economies in Global Governance Instructor: Dr. Kathryn Hochstetler (winter 2013)
Large developing countries like Brazil, Russia, India, and China stand at the centre of much of current international political economy. Their national development efforts profoundly shape their international participation and vice versa. This course will cover theoretical and conceptual debates about the roles of these “middle range” or “emerging” powers, then examine their national economies, before turning to see how they individually and collectively (with the other emerging powers) fit into current global governance.

GGOV 614/PSCI 614 (UW) International Business and Development, Instructor: Dr. Hongying Wang (fall 2012)
This course will examine the varied roles of international businesses in developing areas. The term international businesses is used to refer to a variety of firms including multinationals, contractual partners of these firms working in developing areas, as well as developing area firms as suppliers of other businesses in industrialized countries. The course will examine the impact of international businesses on the social-economy of developing areas, especially their impact on poverty and development. The course include studies of businesses in a number of countries (including Nigeria, India, China, Pakistan, Colombia, Brazil, and South Africa), the role of free and fair trade networks, as well as the impact of questionable financial transactions.

PO 670 (WLU) Canada and the Global South, Instructor: Dr. Yasmine Shamsie (winter 2013)
This course will explore Canada’s reputation, both at home and abroad, as a strong supporter and defender of the Global South’s concerns. The goal will be to attempt to uncover some of the contradictions in Canadian policy toward poorer nations. The course is organized around broad themes: Diplomacy, Economic Relations and Trade, Aid and Security.

Global Environmental Governance
*GGOV 620/ERS 604/PSCI 604 (UW)/GV 732 (WLU) Global Environmental Governance, Instructor: Dr. Thomas Homer-Dixon (winter 2013)
This course examines the ways in which environmental challenges are being addressed by means of 'global governance' - that is, international organizations and institutions intended to deal with these environmental challenges. Concepts are investigated both to help analyze the relative strengths and weaknesses of existing structures and to suggest ways in which alternative forms of global governance might advance sustainability. Specific organizations and other actors presently active in global environmental governance are given particular attention, as is the management of selected global environmental challenges.

ERS 675/475 (UW) Economics and Sustainability, Instructor: Dr. Jennifer Clapp (fall 2012)
This course provides an introduction to various approaches to economics and questions of environmental quality and sustainability. Students are not expected to already have a background in economics. The course starts with an examination of the history and assumptions that underlie conventional (neoclassical) economic approaches to the environment, as compared with the assumptions that guide the relatively more recent fields of ecological economics and green economics. We will then examine key environment-economy issues and policies to address them, including: economic growth, natural resource extraction, globalization, pollution and market failures such as climate change. The political economy of international carbon markets will be examined in more depth as an example of economic policy responses to global environmental problems.  Measures of ‘progress’ and ‘prosperity’ will also be examined, comparing conventional measures (of wealth and growth) with those that incorporate environmental components, and we will discuss their usefulness – both conceptually as well as in a policy setting. The course will end up with two weeks of a student ‘conference’ that showcases students’ individual research projects.

Conflict and Security
*GGOV 630/PSCI 678 (UW)/GV 733 (WLU) Security Ontology, Instructor: Dr. David Welch (fall 2012)
This is a seminar in the ontology of security. Security is a contested concept, and in this course we ask what it is and how best to pursue it. What do we mean by security? What are we trying to protect? From what? Why? How do we do it? We begin by considering the concept of security in the abstract, and we then proceed to explore various specific conceptions. Along the way we encounter both traditional and non-traditional approaches to security.

GGOV 631/PSCI 679 (UW) Security Ontology – Issues and Institutions, Instructor: Dr. David Welch (winter 2013)
In this course we examine a range of "security" issues on the global agenda--both traditional and non-traditional--and examine recent and possible future institutional and policy responses. Issues examined include nuclear proliferation, terrorism, intrastate conflict, resource and territorial disputes, climate change, drugs, disease, and migration. Students will have an opportunity to research in depth a specific security issue of their choice.

GGOV 633 (UW) Managing Nuclear Risk Instructors: Dr. James Blight and Dr. janet Lang (winter 2013)
This seminar will begin with an examination of history’s closest call to a major nuclear war: the Cuban missile crisis of October 1962. Research on the crisis over the past twenty-five years on the U.S., Russian and Cuban perspectives on the crisis (much of it conducted by the instructors) suggests that the crisis was not anticipated by leaders in Washington, Moscow or Havana; that the crisis spiraled into unprecedented danger primarily due to each side’s ignorance of the motives, capabilities and perspectives of the others; that the crisis came within a hair’s breadth of exploding into catastrophic war; and that this limiting case of nuclear danger holds important lessons for leaders trying to manage nuclear risks in today’s world. Students will have online access to the treasure trove of declassified documents, oral testimony and scholarly analysis of the crisis from all over the world. The seminar will then shift gears to an in-depth consideration of the degree to which the lessons of the missile crisis illuminate the evolving Iranian nuclear crisis—the standoff between Iran and the West regarding Iran’s apparent pursuit of a nuclear weapons’ capability. Each student will work with the instructors throughout the semester to identify a suitable topic for an original research paper which may be primarily historical, or policy-oriented, or a hybrid of the two. The seminar is open to any student with a strong interest in these topics, regardless of departmental affiliation.

GGOV 634/PSCI 620 (UW) Gender and Global Politics, Instructor: Dr. Veronica Kitchen (winter 2013)
Does looking at the world through the lens of gender change how we see the state, sovereignty, diplomacy, security, trade, migration, globalization, governance, and other foundational concepts in global politics? We review feminist theories of politics, with a particular focus on international relations and global governance; examine how gender shapes the roles and experiences of women and men in global politics; and discuss how to do feminist research.

Global Justice and Human Rights
*GV 760/GGOV 641 International Human Rights, Instructor: Dr. Rhoda Howard-Hassmann (fall 2012)
This course will focus on the international human rights regime as a component of international law and global governance. It will begin with a discussion of the meaning of human rights and how they have been institutionalized within the United Nations system and in international law. It will continue with investigation of the history of human rights, and discussion of the debate about cultural relativism and human rights, particularly as it applies to the rights of women and gays/lesbians. The relationship of human rights to globalization will then be considered, with particular reference to markets and human rights, and the role of NGOs and civil society in promoting human rights in a globalized world. The last section of the course will investigate ways to rectify human rights crimes, including the role of human rights in foreign policy; genocide, war crimes and their aftermath; and new methods of justice and reconciliation, including apologies, truth commissions and reparations. 

PO 654 (WLU) Comparative Truth Commissions, Instructor: Dr. Jorge Heine (winter 2013)
One of the effects of the “third wave” of democratization that took place in the late twentieth century has been to confront newly democratizing countries with the need to come to terms with their “evil past”, i.e. the human rights violations committed under authoritarian rule. Truth commissions have been, in many (though by no means all) cases the instrument of choice to do so. The purpose of this course is to examine the emergence, main features and evolution of truth commissions, within the broader context of transitional justice, one of the fastest and most exciting areas within the study of democratization. Special attention will be paid to the Chilean and South African Truth and Reconciliation Commissions.

IP 632 (WLU) Special Topics in Human Security: Political Geographies of Violence, Instructor: Dr. Alison Mountz (winter 2013)
This course explores the ethical, analytical, and policymaking challenges associated with the two dimensions of human security: "freedom from fear" and "freedom from want". The former refers to policies and activities developed to assist people in conflicts or under threat of violence, such as humanitarian intervention and the creation of international regimes to alleviate harm. The second dimension focuses on the social, political, and economic conditions that lead to or arise from both humanitarian emergencies and longer-term inequalities.

HIST 607 (UW) History of Human Rights I, Instructor: Dr. James Walker (fall 2012)
The course will examine developments in human rights, primarily during the twentieth century. Weekly discussions based on assigned readings will offer students an opportunity to explore such questions as: What are "human rights" and how are they different from any other rights? Where do human rights come from? Why do they change over time, and by whom and by what means are changes effected? Is there a role for the historian in explaining this process, and can the lessons of history be applied to public policy and to continuing human rights issues? The focus for our study is the formation and evolution of international human rights, but with attention paid to Canadian events to assess the relationship between domestic and global human rights innovations.

HIST 608 (UW) History of Human Rights II, instructor: Dr. James Walker (winter 2013)
In this sequel to HIST 607, students will have an opportunity to pursue a primary research project on an approved topic in the history of human rights. A series of progress meetings and research consultations will lead towards a "conference" where students will present their own research and comment on their classmates' draft papers.

Multilateral Institutions and Diplomacy
*GGOV 650/PSCI 657 (UW)/GV 734 (WLU) International Organizations and Global Governance, Instructor: Dr. Andrew Cooper (fall 2012)
This course will examine the growing literature on international organizations and discuss their impact on global governance. The relevance, impact, and agency of international organizations will be considered. With the growing interdependence among states, international organizations are places where global governance decisions are made.

GGOV 652/PSCI 618 (UW) Non-State Actors in Global Governance, Instructor: Dr. Kathryn Hochstetler (winter 2013)
Non-state actors (NGOs, corporations, networks, etc) play increasingly important roles in global governance.  This course examines different theoretical arguments about their roles.  Overarching questions include the extent to which they support or undermine states’ purposes in global governance, what and how much they can contribute to global problem solving, and possible limits or critiques of their participation.  It will draw on studies of non-state actors in many issue areas, venues, and parts of the world in an effort to understand what these have in common with each other, as well as possible lines of differentiation among them.

Global Social Governance
GV735 (WLU)/GGOV 642/PSCI 639 (UW) Global Social Policy, Instructor: Dr. Rianne Mahon (fall 2012)
This course examines the prospects for the supranational governance of social issues including the political and philosophical underpinnings of transnational social policy cooperation as well as examining specific issue areas suchas global health policy and cross-national migration.

GGOV 643/PSCI 616 (UW) Global Health Governance, Instructor: Dr. William Coleman (winter 2013)
Health policy-making is changing to reflect a need for more coordination among nation-states and a rising number of international non-governmental organizations, leading to a more polycentric form of global governance. It begins with a review of theoretical texts on globalization and global public policy that assist in understanding changes in scale for policy-making and for policy co-ordination. It then looks at the historical development of global institutions, including the World Health Organization. Finally, it examines case studies of global health policy making, noting how these actions interface with nation-states’ sovereignty and autonomy, and with other sites of global authority.

GGOV 662/SOC 781 (UW) Global Development Governance, Instructor: Dr. Suzan Ilcan (winter 2013)
The course explores theoretical perspectives on the global governance of development, with critical attention to how processes of global development shape local environments and their inhabitants, challenge notions of state sovereignty and territory, and engender diverse responses to regimes of control through global development. Cross-disciplinary perspectives will enable students to engage with a wide range of sociological, ethnographic, and political analyses of development through cases studies and themes.

PO671 Issues in Third World Politics, Instructor: Dr. Andrea Brown (winter 2013)
An in-depth exploration of selected issues of current interest in Third World politics. This course will study significant new publications in the field as well as several case studies from nations or regions undergoing political challenges and transformations, such as transitions to democracy, civil war, economic collapse and restructuring, ethnic unrest, the AIDS crisis, grassroots initiatives, and famine.

PO691r (WLU) Globalization and Nation-state: From State Formation to Nation-states in Decline, Instructor: Dr. Rianne Mahon (fall 2012)
Course description to follow.