International Cooperation unit (HIR308)

Introduction

International cooperation has undoubtly a positive ring to it. Recent decades have seen an impressive increase in inter-governmental and transnational cooperation, which often have been hailed for creating policies of peace and prosperity. Examples include the European Union, the Arms Trade Treaty or global measures for preventing climate change decided in Paris in 2015. However, international cooperation has also a dark side to it. It notably tends to (re)produce structures of inequality and injustice. With hindsight, for instance, we remember the 1884 Berlin Conference as a negative example of international cooperation as it carried on the colonization of Africa (the famous scramble for Africa), hence institutionalizing the looting and the violence and exploitation of the continent. However, at its times, the conference was seen as a peace conference as it avoided armed conflict between the two great powers of the time, France and Great-Britain. International cooperation is, as this example shows, often highly ambiguous. While it creates on the one hand conditions for a more peaceful and prosperous world, it also (re)creates conditions for exploitation and injustice. This unit will explore this ambiguity by looking at both sides of international cooperation: its bright side with is potential of solving major global problems and conflicts (climate change, wars, famine etc.) and its dark side, i.e. the conditions of power inequality and domination on which cooperation is often predicated on and which it institutionalizeds and reproduces.

Summary

Unit name	International Cooperation
Unit code	HIR308
Credit points	12.5
College/School	Arts and Society Humanities and Social Sciences
Discipline	Politics and International Relations
Coordinator	Doctor Catherine Goetze
Available as an elective?	Yes
Delivered By	University of Tasmania
Level	Advanced

Availability

Specific information on 2027 unit availability will be available in August

Learning Outcomes

• Explain different forms and instances of inter-governmental and transnational cooperation.
• Analyse key arguments and theoretical debates in the field of international cooperation.
• Apply theoretical knowledge from mainstream and critical approaches to empirical cases of international relations.
• Communicate coherently in written and/or oral formats drawing upon evidence to support your argument.

Fee Information

2027 fee information will be available in August.

Requisites

Prerequisites

HPP101 OR HIR101

Teaching

Teaching Pattern	On campus: Weekly seminar (1 hour) and weekly workshop (2 hours) Online: Weekly (online or recorded) seminar (1 hour) and weekly (online or recorded) workshop (2 hours)
Assessment	Reading diary (25%)|Tutorial participation (25%)|Essay (50%)
Timetable	View the lecture timetable | View the full unit timetable

Textbooks

Required	TBC
Recommended	The list of recommended readings and readings will be distributed at the beginning of the class. All required readings are accessible through the Mylo page. Please pay attention to the announcements in class.

The University reserves the right to amend or remove courses and unit availabilities, as appropriate.