NCHU Course Outline
Course Name (中) 全球永續治理(5156)
(Eng.) Global Sustainable Governance
Offering Dept Law and Politics
Course Type Elective Credits 3 Teacher Naina Singh ect.
Department Transcontinental International Master Program/Graduate Language English Semester 2026-FALL
Course Description An interconnected world with border crossing issues such as climate change, technological evolution, migration and global trade disruption demands an understanding of how and whether they develop global solution or coordination efforts, if not, why it is so difficult to arrive to a common understanding despite acknowledging the global impact of the problem itself. This course introduces students to the foundational concepts, institutions and practices that shape decision-making at the international level, while building critical awareness of the power dynamics and equity perspective at both global and state levels.

The course explores key thematic areas including climate governance, examining international climate framework and their compliance; the governance of artificial intelligence, focusing on ethical, regulatory and societal implications of emerging technologies; migration governance, addressing role of NGOs and education in creating inter-cultural understanding and trade governance, analyzing economic interdependence and regulatory challenges. The learning of these topics is enriched through diverse and interactive methods including documentary screening, guest lectures from experts and field visits that connect theoretical knowledge with practical experiences.
Prerequisites
self-directed learning in the course Y
Relevance of Course Objectives and Core Learning Outcomes(%) Teaching and Assessment Methods for Course Objectives
Course Objectives Competency Indicators Ratio(%) Teaching Methods Assessment Methods
1)Equipping students with analytical tools to critically assess global governance mechanisms and contribute thoughtfully to discussions on sustainable and inclusive global futures.

2)Apply interdisciplinary analytical skills to assess complex global challenges

3) Engage with real-world perspectives through documentaries, guest lectures, and field visits

topic Discussion/Production
Visit
Discussion
Lecturing
Written Presentation
Attendance
Oral Presentation
Assignment
Course Content and Homework/Schedule/Tests Schedule
Week Course Content
Week 1 The Talk of Governance and Sustainability: What is it?

Dresner, Simon. “Introduction” in The principles of sustainability. Routledge, 2012.

Palumbo, Antonino. “Introduction: Governance: Meanings, Themes, Narratives and Questions.” In From Government to Governance, edited by Richard Bellamy and Antonino Palumbo, xi–xxvii. Surrey: Ashgate, 2010
Week 2 The Governance at the Global Level: A Background
Lopez-Claros, Augusto, Arthur L. Dahl, and Maja Groff. “The Challenges of the 21st Century” Part. In Global Governance and the Emergence of Global Institutions for the 21st Century, 3-29. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020.

Lopez-Claros, Augusto, Arthur L. Dahl, and Maja Groff. “A History of Global Governance” Part. In Global Governance and the Emergence of Global Institutions for the 21st Century, 30-64. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020.
Week 3 Climate Governance: The Protocols

Falkner, Robert. "The Paris Agreement and the new logic of international climate politics." International Affairs 92, no. 5 (2016): 1107-1125.

Armstrong, Chris, and Duncan McLaren. "Which net zero? Climate justice and net zero emissions." Ethics & International Affairs 36, no. 4 (2022): 505-526.

Schneider, Lambert, and Stephanie La Hoz Theuer. "Environmental integrity of international carbon market mechanisms under the Paris Agreement." Climate Policy 19, no. 3 (2019): 386-400.

Why carbon offsets are worse than you think?
Week 4 Climate Governance: The State Compliance

Fünfgeld, Anna. "Coal vs Climate: Indonesia's energy policy contradicts its climate goals." (2020): 12.

Milkoreit, Manjana. "The Paris agreement on climate change—made in USA?." Perspectives on Politics 17, no. 4 (2019): 1019-1037.

Xiaolong, Zou. "Institutional Deficiencies of the Paris Agreement and China's Compliance Capacity: An Evaluation after US Withdrawal." China: An International Journal 19, no. 2 (2021): 164-177.
Week 5 Nuclear Energy: Climate Savior or Silent Threat? Documentary (Screening and Discussion)

Fukushima: A Nuclear Nightmare (2026) Directed by James Jones and Megumi Inman
Running Time: 90 minutes

Discussion:
1- Can nuclear power still be considered a “climate savior” after the risks and consequences shown in Fukushima, or do the potential harms outweigh the benefits?

2- How should governments balance the urgent need to reduce carbon emissions with the potential human and environmental risks of nuclear accidents?

Week 6 Circular Economy: Sustainable Solution or Recycling Myth?

Guest Lecture
林俊旭 研究員/主任
中華經濟研究院 綠色經濟研究中心
Chun-hsu Lin, Ph.D.
Director, Center for Green Economy (CGE)
Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER)
Week 7 Field Visit: NGOs and Migration Integration (Tentative)

1095(壹零玖伍文史工作室)
Week 8 Education and Inter-Cultural Understanding

Guest Lecture
Satoshi Kato
Specially Appointed Lecturer
Global Initiative Center
Kagoshima University
Week 9 Mid-Semester Assignment

Supply Chain Mapping Project (Group Project)

It is a group assignment. Each group will trace and analyze the supply chain of an everyday product (such as coffee, cloth, smart phone etc.) to understand its environmental, social, and economic impacts.

PS: Choose something easy to observe locally.
Week 10 Governing AI: What does it entail?

Ebers, Martin. "Truly risk-based regulation of artificial intelligence how to implement the EU’s AI Act." European Journal of Risk Regulation 16, no. 2 (2025): 684-703.

Von Eschenbach, Warren J. "Transparency and the black box problem: Why we do not trust AI." Philosophy & technology 34, no. 4 (2021): 1607-1622.

Dafoe, Allan. "AI governance: a research agenda." Governance of AI Program, Future of Humanity Institute, University of Oxford: Oxford, UK 1442 (2018): 1443.
Week 11 AI and Ethics: The Future of “Ethical AI”

Guest Lecture
Dr Bianca Baggiarini
Lecturer, International Relations
Faculty of Arts and Education/School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Deakin University, Victoria, Australia
Week 12 Generative AI, Academic Writing and Critical Thinking

Guest Lecture
Dr Leechin Heng
Postdoctoral Scholar
The School of Learning Informatics
Week 13 AI needs Infrastructure: The Question of Environment Sustainability

Morrison, Jacob, Clara Na, Jared Fernandez, Tim Dettmers, Emma Strubell, and Jesse Dodge. "Holistically evaluating the environmental impact of creating language models." arXiv preprint arXiv:2503.05804 (2025).

The Real Story on AI’s Water Use–and How to Tackle It

Han, Yuelin, Pengfei Li, Adam Wierman, and Shaolei Ren. "Small Bottle, Big Pipe: Quantifying and Addressing the Impact of Data Centers on Public Water Systems." arXiv preprint arXiv:2603.02705 (2026).

Cecilia Biancalana, 2025. "Environmental Challenges in the Platform Society: Insights From Mobilisations Against Data Centres", Mapping the Evolution of Platform Society: Multidisciplinary Insights from Social and Political Sciences, Valentina Goglio, Cecilia Biancalana
Week 14 Supply Chains and Geopolitics

Ernst, Dieter. Supply chain regulation in the service of geopolitics: What's happening in semiconductors?. No. 256. CIGI Papers, 2021.

Andrews, Nathan, Paul Bowles, and Jing Vivian Zhan. "Transforming global critical minerals governance: is a green new international economic order possible?." Third World Quarterly (2025): 1-20.
Week 15 Simulation Exercise / Board Game (Diplomacy/ The King's Dilemma)
Week 16 Final Assignment
(The Instructions would be provided during the class)
self-directed
learning
   01.Participation in professional forums, lectures, and corporate sharing sessions related to industry-government-academia-research exchange activities.
   02.Viewing multimedia materials related to industry and academia.
   05.Participation in various workshops organized by different departments of NCHU.

Evaluation
Attendance 10%
Class Discussion and Presentations: 20%
Mid-Term Assignment: 30%
Final Assignment: 40%
Textbook & other References

Teaching Aids & Teacher's Website

Office Hours

Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs(Link URL)
include experience courses:N
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Update Date, year/month/day:2026/06/25 13:01:40 Printed Date, year/month/day:2026 / 8 / 18
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