WORLD POLITICS: GREAT ISSUES AND GREAT NATIONS

There are several significant concerns that have recently acquired an exceptional humanitarian importance – climate change, population distribution, urbanization, refugees, food distribution, energy supplies, public health, etc. What is the nature of these issues? How will they affect world politics and world economics? How will major nations like America, China, Russia, etc., handle them – through cooperation or through rivalry? What will be the impact on other regions like Latin America, Africa and parts of Asia? Can organizations like the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, and the World Health Organization play a useful role? Will these concerns affect the world balance of power? How will the lives of ordinary people be affected? This course will examine these and other issues in the context of the current global situation, and, as always, topics for discussion may change due to urgent international developments.