POLI7818 · Political Science

Global Public Goods and Cooperation in International Politics

Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences

Some of our most urgent challenges, from global warming and international financial crises to nuclear proliferation, global epidemics or disruption of the internet, can be understood as "global public goods." These require international actors to bargain, coordinate and collaborate in reaching effective responses. This seminar investigates the nature of public goods and collective action in order to help understand these pressing challenges, possible responses to them, and how politics both limits and opens opportunities for policy formation. It begins with prevalent theories about the production of public goods, from the local to transnational and global, and analysis of their governance. It then studies in depth three case studies, providing international financial stability, slowing the spread of nuclear weapons worldwide, and mitigating global climate disruption. It concludes by examining the implications of rising socio-economic inequality in major countries worldwide.