PSCI1105 - Networks and NGOs in World Politics

Non-state actors are increasingly important to world politics. This course will introduce you to the variety of non-state actors that are currently influencing our world, including non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and transnational networks related to advocacy, crime, global governance, and violence. You will develop a working understanding of these actors’ roles in shaping war, peace, human rights, democracy, the global economy, and various other aspects of contemporary global politics. Questions that we will consider include: What are non-state actors and what effects do they have on world politics? What accounts for non-state actors’ emergence and evolution? What explains their organizational forms, goals, and strategies? What are the opportunities and limits of transnational activism?
In this course, we will learn what political science can tell us about these and other questions. We will read cutting-edge social science research on the topic as well as materials written by and for the people who work for and with international NGOs and transnational networks. We will reflect on the readings together in class, and you will also do so in a variety of assignments. Many of the readings are challenging, and some of them use statistics, but prior knowledge of the topic or of statistics is not required.