ECN350 Development and Global Challanges

The course focuses on global threats, challenges, and opportunities for sustainable development. The global challenges include climate change and policy responses, population growth and employment creation, migration and youth unemployment, land degradation and land policies, local and global food security, inequality and political instability, and armed conflicts. Since 2025, international relations have changed, with some arguing that we are reverting to 1800s protectionism, or even 1600s royalism. Autocracy is increasingly characterizing the largest countries in the world, and the rule of the global order is being rewritten. Whether this represents a permanent shift or just a temporary situation remains to be seen.

Economic and political/social science theories can help us understand this situation. At the same time. Contradictory or competing perspectives exist: rational decision making versus behavioural perspectives, trade versus protectionism, universal human rights versus context specific norms, global climate governance and targets versus nationally determined contributions, and more generally global governance vs. national sovereignty, exemplified by debates on the role of international institutions such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, World Trade Organization, UN organizations and international agreements.

The main activity in the course is writing two essays on self-selected topics, with emphasis on systematizing and critically discussing the relevant literature and on writing skills.

Knowledge

• Has solid knowledge about key development and global challenges, and knowledge of the main literature and alternative perspectives.
• Has advanced knowledge, including the relevant literature, within the topics chosen for the two essays.

Skills

• Can search and identify the key literature for their two issues papers, e.g., by using Google Scholar.
• Can undertake a thorough literature review, including structuring the literature, extracting the main points, and critically discussing the theory, data, methods and conclusions.
• Can write scientific English, including the correct use of references.

General competence

• Can present their own work in a structured and engaging way.
• Can critically assess others’ work and provide constructive feedback.
• Is able to receive critical comments and use them to improve own work.