GEOPOLITICS AND GEOECONOMICS

The course provides a geographical perspective on the geopolitical and geoeconomic transformations of the contemporary world, providing an understanding of how geopolitical and geoeconomic risks are made the object of political, economic and military strategies.

In this intensive course we will examine the geopolitical and geoeconomic transformations of the contemporary world, and the increasingly important entanglements between the two. We will focus, in particular, on the ways in which political and economic risk is being ‘secured’ today, and the new domains of the geopolitical and geoeconomic strategies of states and international actors such as the European Union. Upon completing the course, students will be able to critically assess current geopolitical transformations and their implications for states, markets and individuals.

There are no specific pre-requisites but since the course engages with contemporary political and geopolitical events, I expect you to be up-to-date with current affairs.

We will spend the first two weeks, in Section I, building the bases for a ‘geopolitical’ understanding of contemporary transformations, reviewing key concepts in geopolitical thought and ways of ‘envisioning’ the world. We will then proceed, in Section II, to discuss how geopolitical and geoeconomic risks are being understood today and made the object of political, economic and military strategies. Section III of the course will focus on a key shift in the geopolitics and geoeconomics of global risk – the so-called ‘weaponization of everything’, from supply chains to physical and digital infrastructures. In the final part of the course, Section IV, we will apply the insights gained in the preceding weeks to specific case studies. In these last 5 sessions of the class, you will take a direct role, with a group presentation.

SECTION I: MAPPING KEY CONCEPTS AND IDEAS

Wednesday September 24
Session 1: Introduction: Why geopolitics matters (but not in the way you think!)

Thursday September 25
Session 2: Imperial Geopolitics and its Enduring Echoes

Friday September 26
Session 3: Cold Wars, Then and Now

Wednesday October 1
Session 4: New Geographies of Insecurity and Uncertainty

Thursday October 2
Session 5: Securing the Waters: Seapower Past and Present (with Dr. Francesco Zampieri, Istituto Studi Militari Marittimi)


SECTION II: SECURING POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC RISKS

Friday October 3
Session 6: An EU Geopolitics?: The EU’s Transformation as a Geopolitical Actor

Wednesday October 8
Session 7: Securing New Risks: Military and Strategic Visions

Thursday October 9
Session 8: New Spaces of Geopolitics: Virtual and Digital Geopolitics

SECTION III: WEAPONISING INTERDEPENDENCE

Friday October 10
Session 9: ‘Weaponizing Interdependence’: Everything is (potentially) dangerous

PLEASE NOTE! NO LESSONS Wednesday October 15* and Thursday October 16*

Friday October 17
Session 10: The New ‘Economic Security State’ and Economic Warfare

Wednesday October 22
Session 11: Energy Security and the Green Transition: New Dependencies?

SECTION IV: CASE STUDY RESEARCH PRESENTATIONS

Thursday October 23
Session 12: Student Presentations

Friday October 24
Session 13: Student Presentations

Thursday October 30
Session 14: Student Presentations

Friday October 31
Session 15: Student Presentations and Course Wrap-Up

There is no assigned textbook for the course; specific readings will be assigned for each lecture, available on Moodle.

The course assessment will be made up of two components:
Group presentation in Section IV of the course: 40% of the total mark
3 CARQ Reports, to be completed during the course: 20% each, 60% of the total mark

A detailed explanation of what is a ‘CARQ’ report is provided in the syllabus and in the section below; you will be free to choose any three readings of the ones indicated to complete your report. This will allow you to select readings and topics that are closest to your interests, making for a more interesting report.

written and oral

The lecturer has a duty to ensure that the rules regarding the authenticity and originality of exam tests and papers are respected. Therefore, if there is suspicion of irregular conduct, an additional assessment may be conducted, which could differ from the original exam description.

The minimum passing grade is 18/30 and the maximum grade is 30/30, with a possible 'lode'.

The course will be strucured around interactive lectures, scheduled three times a week (twice in the first two weeks). Since this is an MA level class, I will expect your active participation: all sessions will feature both a frontal lecture component as well as discussion moments where I will ask you to engage with the material presented. I hope this will make the course much more interesting and relevant, allowing all of you to also bring your unique insights and experience to the classroom.

The course will be assessed in on-going fashion in order to support your full engagement and contribution to class discussions.

CARQ Reports Instructions:
A ‘CARQ report’ is a useful scheme for the critical reading and processing of academic texts which goes beyond a simple summary. The acronym stands for Citation, Argument, Relations and Questions (CARQ)

Your CARQ reports should include the following elements:
Citation
Select one or two citations that, according to you, represent the core of the argument made in the text (please provide full citation details, including page number).
Argument
Using the core citation(s), outline the main argument of the text, and describe how the author(s) substantiate the claims they are making. I encourage you to be critical, to identify flaws, biases, or false assumptions in the author(s) argumentation.
Relations
Describe here how the specific text relates (or not!) to the other readings of the course and the course lectures. Is it in line with some of the perspectives outlined in the lectures and other readings, or does it present a different interpretation? Does it pose new questions?
Question
Formulate one or two key questions related to the text that could be used to stimulate discussion in class.

The total length of the report should be between 850-1000 words. The readings that can be selected for the report are marked with a star * on the syllabus.

Your reports can be submitted at any point during the course, but all 3 must be submitted before the end of the last week (Friday, October 31 by 17:00)

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "International cooperation" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development