Eco(w)holism: Ecopolitics, Environmental Regimes, and Rise of Geoeconomics

Associate Professor Peter Kien-hong YU

Indicative Syllabus

Environment usually refers to land, air, and water, and ecology has to do with patterns of relations between organisms and their environment.

This introductory course is intended to provide a general understanding of the consequences of modern science and technology which are seemingly distrupting and ruining human course of development as well as depleting Planet Earth capacity to carry on. Problems like ozone layer depletion, global warming, and El Nino and La Nina effects will also be discussed.

For the sake of tackling the Tragedy of the Commons, nation-states can no longer be egoistic. In the era of eco(w)holism, collective efforts must be made by them to overcome the colossal problems, as James C. Hsiung has observed, “[i]n the post-Cold War era, eco(w)holism sees the eclipse of geopolitics by ecopolitics and the rise of environmental regime, a trend that parallels the eclipse of geopolitics by geoeconomics.”

Course Outline

1.      Introductory Remarks: To Survive, One Must be Altruistic and Less Egoistic (Monopoly Versus Class Struggle)

  1. The Concept of Eco(w)holism
  2. Types of Changes: Demographic Change, Change in Agriculture and Food, Change in Energy, Environmental Change, Technological Change, Economic Change, and Socio-political Change.
  3. Geopolitics: Karl Haushofer, Heartland Theory, Rimland Theory, Sea Power Theory, etc.
  4. The End of the Nation-state, Globalization, Regional and Global Villages, Small States, Nationalism, etc.
  5. Ecopolitics and Schools of Thought: Administration Rationalism, Democratic Pragmatism, Economic Rationalism, and Green Rationalism
  6. Environmental Threats to National Security: Ozone Layer Depletion, Global Warming, Depletion of Non-renewable Resources, and Mass Population Migration as a Cause of International Conflict, etc.
  7. Environmental Regimes: The Antarctica System, etc.
  8. Geoeconomics: The Mainstream of Post Cold-war Politics
  9. Green Non-governmental Organizations
  10. Mainland China, Hongkong, Aoman, and Taiwan as Case Studies
  11. Concluding Remarks

Evaluation and Course Requirements

Continuous Assessment/Evaluation: Mid-term Test Plus Some Quizzes During Lectures (15%), Tutorial Participation and Summary/commentary Report Plus Weekly Questions, Totaling 40%

Final Examination: 60%

Each student is required to present at least one (oral) summary/commentary report, including posing three questions.

N.B.: Please show up in class on time.

References

Alker Jr., Hayward R and Peter M. Haas, “The Rise of Global Ecopolitics” in Nazli Choucri, ed., Global Accord: Environmental Challenges and International Responses (Cambridge, MASS.: The MIT Press, 1993);

Buck, Susan, The Global Commons: An Introduction (London: Earthscan, 1998).

Choucri, Nazli, ed., Global Accord: Environmental Challenges and International Responses (Cambridge, MASS: The MIT Press, 1993);

Coleman, Daniel A., Ecopolitics: Building a Green Society (New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1994);

Connelly, James and Graham Smith, Politics and the Environment (London: Routledge, 1999);

Fitzsimmons, A.K., Defending Illusions: Federal Protection of Ecosystems (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 1999);

Gertz, Bill, Betrayal: How the Clinton Administration Undermined American Security (Washington, D.C.: Regnery Publishing, Inc., 1999);

Gray, Colin S., The Geopolitics of Super Power (Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky, 1988);

Gupta, Avijit, Ecology and Development in the Third World (London: Routledge, 1998);

Hsiung, James C., Anarchy and Order (Boulder, CO.: Lynne Rienner, 1997);

Hughes, Barry B., World Futures: A Critical Analysis of Alternatives (Baltimore, MD.: John Hopkins University Press, 1995);

Lenin, Vladimir Illyich, Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism (1916);

Luttwak, Edward N., Geoeconomics: The Endangered American Dream,” National Interest, No.34 (1993), pp.102-105;

Money, Jeannette, “No Vacancy: The Political Geography of Immigration Control in Advanced Industrial Countries,” International Organization, Vol.51, No.4 (Autumn 1997), pp.685-720;

Nester, William R., International Relations: Geopolitical and Geoeconomic Conflict and Cooperation (New York: Harper Collins, 1995);

Nijman, Jan, The Geopolitics of Power and Conflict (London: Belhaven Press, 1993);

Tips for Effective Presentations

Check: www.queensu.ca/idc/trainers/hand/present.html

On Preparation of Summary/commentary Report

Before they begin to write, students are advised to consult Guidelines for Writing Research Papers and Hints, Admonitions, and Downright Threats From a Jaded Reader of Too Many Sloppy Essays. For websites devoted to writing, see Mike Howlett’s suggestions.