17.442
International Politics and Climate Change
Fall 2007
This course examines the interconnections of international politics and climate change. Beginning with an analysis of the strategic and environmental legacies of the 20th Century, it explores the politicization of the natural environment, the role of science in this process, and the gradual shifts in political concerns to incorporate "nature". Two general thrusts of climate-politics connections are pursued, namely those related to (a) conflict – focusing on threats to security due to environmental dislocations and (b) cooperation – focusing on the politics of international treaties that have contributed to emergent processes for global accord in response to evidence of climate change. The course concludes by addressing the question of: "What Next?"
Readings
- McNeill, J. R. Something New Under the Sun: An Environmental History of the Twentieth-century World . New York, NY: W.W. Norton, 2000. ISBN: 9780393049176.
- Kates, Robert W. “Population, Technology, and the Human Environment: A Thread Through Time.” In Technological Trajectories and the Human Environment . Edited by Jesse H. Ausubel and H. Dale Langford. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1997, pp. 33-55. ISBN: 9780309051330.
- McNeill, J. R. Something New Under the Sun: An Environmental History of the Twentieth-century World . New York, NY: W.W. Norton, 2000, chapters 1 and 2. ISBN: 9780393049176.
- Hardin, Garrett. “The Tragedy of the Commons.” In Economics of the Environment . 5th ed. Edited by Robert N. Stavins. New York, NY: W.W. Norton, 2005. ISBN: 9780393927016.
- Wernick, Iddo K., Robert Herman, Shekhar Govind, and Jesse H. Ausubel. “Materialization and Dematerialization: Measures and Trends.” In Technological Trajectories and the Human Environment . Edited by Jesse H. Ausubel and H. Dale Langford. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1997, pp. 135-156. ISBN: 9780309051330.
- Vitousek, Peter M., Harold A. Mooney, Jane Lubchenco, and Jerry M. Melillo. “Human Domination of Earth’s Ecosystems.” Science New Series 277, no. 5325 (July 25, 1997): 494-499.
- McNeill, J. R. Something New Under the Sun: An Environmental History of the Twentieth-century World . New York, NY: W.W. Norton, 2000, chapters 3 and 4. ISBN: 9780393049176.
- McNeill, J. R. Something New Under the Sun: An Environmental History of the Twentieth-century World . New York, NY: W.W. Norton, 2000, chapter 11. ISBN: 9780393049176.
- Holling, C. S. “Sustainability: The Cross-Scale Dimension.” In Defining and Measuring Sustainability: The Biogeophysical Foundations . Edited by Mohan Munasinghe and Walter Shearer. Washington, DC: The World Bank, 1995, pp. 65-75. ISBN: 9780821331347.
- Clark, Ian. Globalization and International Relations Theory . Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, 1999, chapters 4, 5, and 6. ISBN: 9780198782100.
- McNeill, J. R. Something New Under the Sun: An Environmental History of the Twentieth-century World . New York, NY: W.W. Norton, 2000, chapter 5. ISBN: 9780393049176.
- Intergovernmental Panel on Cimate Change (IPCC). IPCC Fourth Assessment Report: Climate Change 2007 .
- McNeill, J. R. Something New Under the Sun: An Environmental History of the Twentieth-century World . New York, NY: W.W. Norton, 2000, chapters 6 and 7. ISBN: 9780393049176.
- Ostrom, Elinor. Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action . New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 1990, chapter 6. ISBN: 9780521405997.
- McNeill, J. R. Something New Under the Sun: An Environmental History of the Twentieth-century World . New York, NY: W.W. Norton, 2000, chapters 8, 9, and 10. ISBN: 9780393049176.
- Barzel, Yoram. Economic Analysis of Property Rights . 2nd ed. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1997, chapters 1 and 5. ISBN: 9780521597135.
- Ostrom, Elinor. “New Horizons in Institutional Analysis.” American Political Science Review 89, no. 1 (1995): 174-178.
- Metrick, Andrew, and Martin L. Weitzman. “Conflicts and Choices in Biodiversity Preservation.” Chapter 28 in Economics of the Environment . 5th ed. Edited by Robert N. Stavins. New York, NY: W.W. Norton, 2005. ISBN: 9780393927016.
- Sands, Philippe. “International Law in the Field of Sustainable Development: Emerging Legal Principles.” In Sustainable Development and International Law . Edited by Winfried Lang. Boston, MA: Graham & Trotman/Martinus Nijhoff, 1995, pp. 53-66. ISBN: 9781859661796.
- Jacoby, Henry D., et al. “Kyoto’s Unfinished Business.” In Economics of the Environment . 5th ed. Edited by Robert N. Stavins. New York, NY: W.W. Norton, 2005. ISBN: 9780393927016.
- McNeill, J. R. Something New Under the Sun: An Environmental History of the Twentieth-century World . New York, NY: W.W. Norton, 2000, chapter 12. ISBN: 9780393049176.
Sources
- Course catalogue ↗Historical OpenCourseWare
- MIT OCW readings ↗
- MIT OCW syllabus ↗
- Historical MIT OpenCourseWare offering. Named reading entries and schedule topics are automatically extracted from the linked source pages.