15263

WiSe 18/19: Political Order and Sustainability Transitions in Comparative Perspective

Berthold Kuhn

Comments

Sustainability has become a powerful reference concept for economic, social and environmen-tal reforms that addresses global governance issues, such as climate change and poverty allevi-ation at international, national and local level. This research oriented seminar will investigate potential tensions between input and output legitimacy and look at policy making for sustainability transitions in China, Germany, India and the US. We shall analyze government and governance capacities for sustainability reforms and look at the role and contributions of various stakeholders, including the business sector, the media, scientific communities, non profits and consumers. The learning objectives of the course will focus on understanding of similarities and tensions between democracy and sustainable development. Students will discuss approaches aiming to scope out ways in which these tensions might be resolved. close

Suggested reading

Chen, Goeffrey and Charles Lees. 2018. The New, Green, Urbanization in China: Between Authoritarian Environmentalism and Decentralization, Chinese Politcal Science Review. Feb-ruary 2018. Fukuyama, Francis. 2011. Origins of political order : from Prehuman Times to the French Revolution (1st paperback ed.). New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Hübner, Kurt (ed.) 2018. National Pathways to Low Carbon Emission Economies: Innovation Policies for Decarbonizing and Unlocking National Pathways to Low Carbon Development, Routledge. Huntington, Samuel 1986: Political Order in Changing Societies, New Haven and London: Yale University Press Kahane, David 2016. Foundation for Democracy and Sustainable Development, January 2016. Kuhn, Berthold 2018. China’s Commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals: An Anal-ysis of Push and Pull Factors and Implementation Challenges, Chinese Political Science Re-view, July 2018, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41111-018-0108-0 Persson, Asa, Nina Weitz, and Mans Nilsson (2016). Follow-up and Review of the Sustaina-ble Development Goals: Alignment vs. Internalization, Review of European Comparative and International Environmental Law, 25 (1), 2016. UNDP 2015. Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, New York. Westall, Andrea 2015. The Relationship between Democracy and Sustainable Development, Foundation for Democracy and Sustainable Development, May 2015. close