Governing Emerging Global Challenges
This module in the Global Affairs cluster explores the critical question of how to enhance collective action in the face of multiple transboundary, geopolitical, and planetary crises. The first part of the module examines the complexities involved in governing emerging global challenges in a more turbulent world. We address major debates in International Relations relating to the changing nature of global systemic risks, global leadership, and the reform of global institutions. These introductory sessions provide the frameworks for examining the major constraints and opportunities facing global governance in the contemporary era. Special attention is given to China’s expanding role in global affairs and what this means for international norms, institutions, and regulation. In the second part of the module, we look in greater depth at three frontier realms of global governance: Climate Change and the Environment; AI, Ethics & Regulation; and Outer Space. The module concludes with a student-led debate over the intersections across these frontiers and the implications for the future trajectory of global governance.