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Superpowers in global environmental politics: China and the US
S435
Once
Course contents
May 14, 2007
May 25, 2007
This course takes a look at the environmental politics of China and the US at the start of the third millennium, against the background of globalizing environmental politics. The US is the current hegemonic power and arguably China will become so in a few decades. Both play a crucial role in current and future global environmental politics, not only with respect to global environmental change (such as contributing to and coping with the greenhouse effect, and dealing with international trade in waste), but also with respect to many domestic environmental agendas in other countries via, among others, the trade and environment agenda, the harmonization of standards, and foreign investments of US and Chinese multinationals.
In order to understand how the US and China affect, influence and co-construct global environmental politics, it is necessary to have a better understanding of both countries' domestic environmental politics and governance, which will be a core part of this course. While both aspire to (continued) global prominence, their domestic processes and dynamics of environmental politics are very different due to the nature of their political systems, their overall levels of economic development, demographic and natural conditions, and historical-cultural roots.
Intermediate
3.00
3.00
This course is designed for PhD students in social environmental sciences and environmental studies programmes (most notably through the SENSE and MGS graduate schools), and last-year Master's students in these fields. Previous graduate coursework in environmental policy, governance, or politics is required; advanced knowledge of the US and China is not.
By the end of course lectures (Part A), students will (i) gain an understanding of key features of domestic environmental politics in the US and in China, including the role of state actors, the private sector, and civil society in constituting and challenging these politics; (ii) acquire insights on the ways in which these two mega-states are involved in and ‘dominate’ global environmental and related politics; and (iii) obtain a beginning appreciation of three leading theoretical approaches to the study of global environmental governance: World-Systems Theory, Global Environmental Politics/ International Relations, and the Sociology of Networks and Flows. Students who take the optional, extended course (Part B), also will (iv) become familiar with US and Chinese involvements in one particular topic of the global environmental agenda; and (v) develop analytical skills through the application of one or more theoretical approaches to case study material on a specific topic.
The course will be lectured during the 5th period, May 14 till May 25, 2007, with the exception of May 17 (a holiday). Plenary lectures are every afternoon starting at 13:15 hours.

The full final program and course outline is available as a download from here.
The poster for this course is available as a download from here.

The course is structured in two parts: plenary lecturing and discussion (Part A, 3 credits, ECTS); and individual research and writing of an analytical paper on US and Chinese involvements in one particular aspect of the global environmental agenda (Part B, 3 credits, ECTS). The first part is required, the second optional; the course can thus be taken for 3 or 6 credits. Given the short duration of the course, students must determine the number of credits and commence working on the research paper from the beginning.

Plenary lectures will take place every afternoon, from May 14 till May 25, with the exception of May 17 (a holiday). In these sessions, students will explore course topics through a combination of reading required and recommended texts, writing short commentaries on the required texts, presenting and commenting on one of the optional texts, listening to lectures, and engaging in class discussions.

The optional analytical paper will utilize theoretical perspectives presented in the class to explore a particular topic in environmental politics involving both China and US. Based primarily on secondary, available data, the paper can be a comparative study (e.g. on water, energy, pollution control, NGOs), or a study on environmental linkages between the two countries (e.g. trade, waste dumping, investments in cleaner production or GMOs). It should be 12-15 pages in length (double-spaced, plus cover sheet and references), and is due no later than 17.00, Friday, 15 June, 2007. Grading and evaluation will be completed by 29 June, 2007.
DR. DAVID A. SONNENFELD: He is associate member of the Environmental Policy Group and professor at Washington State University, the US. His most recent publications include Ecological Modernisation around the World (Routledge, 2000); Challenging the Chip: Labor Rights and Environmental Justice in the Global Electronics Industry (Temple University Press, 2006); and a special issue on "Environmental Reform in Asia," Journal of Environment and Development (2006).

DR. LEI ZHANG: She is lecturer in the Environmental Policy Group at Wageningen University. She has published widely on Chinese environmental politics and governance, among others in the journals Environmental Politics, Greener Management International, and in edited volumes.

In addition, guest lectures will be given by:
- Prof.dr. J. Timmons Roberts (Oxford University, UK; and The College of William and Mary, USA)
- Prof.dr. Eduard Vermeer (Leiden University, the Netherlands)
- Dr. Peter Oosterveer (Wageningen University)
- Dr. Aarti Gupta (Wageningen University)
Course conditions
25
May 10, 2007
Euro 250, read outline for details
Most lectures are held in room C30 in the Gaia building of Wageningen University (building no 101). The building is located at Droevendaalsesteeg 3 in Wageningen.
One exception is the lecture on Friday 18th of May. This lecture will be held in room C406, which is in the Forum building of Wageningen University (building no 102). This building is located on Droevendaalsesteeg 2 in Wageningen.
The coordination of the course will be in the hands of Judith van Leeuwen:

Environmental Policy Group
Leeuwenborch, room 2022
Wageningen University

Hollandseweg 1
6706 KN, Wageningen
Phone: +31-317-484805
Fax: +31-317-483990
http://www.enp.wur.nl
David A. Sonnenfeld, Washington State University
Zhang Lei, Chinese Academy of Sciences/ Wageningen University

Others
REGISTRATION AND FEE. PhD students can register for this course via the SENSE/WIMEK website (http://www.sense.nl/courses/course/S435), and have priority until Mon., April 16, 2007. PhD students are required to pay a fee of 250 euros for this course. From April 16, last-year Master's students can register with Judith van Leeuwen: . Master students can participate in this course for free. A maximum of 25 total students are allowed in the course.
Apr 17, 2007
Registration Closed