International Organisations and Global Governance (10 credits)

Code

SOCI4098

School

Sociology and Social Policy

Level

4

Credits

10

Semesters

Spring UK

Summary

This module will equip students with the knowledge and understanding of the role international governmental organisations (such as the World Bank, World Health Organization, IMF, OECD) play in global governance. They will study how international organisations compete with each other and also cooperate in different fields of public policy to influence the global debate, shift ideas, set the agenda and formulate policy. They will learn how they prepare, guide, and supervise international treaties on public policy issues and how they direct finance and implement public policy projects. Students will learn about the inherent features of the major international organisations and how these determine the approach they take to influence policies. 

Public and social policy is often characterised by a ‘methodological nationalism’ focusing on how national institutions and actors shape public policy. This module will introduce students to a ‘methodological transnationalism’ with a focus on the role of transnational actors and transnational institutions operating within international organisations and how they shape the transnational policy process. The first half of the module will equip students with the theories on global governance, and the power and influence of international organisations drawing on the disciplines of international relations, international political economy, global social policy, and postcolonial studies. The second half of the module will apply these theories to various public policy fields such as pensions, education, the environment and health.

Target Students

Available to all PGT and PGR students including subsidiary students from outside the school. Also available to postgraduate Exchange students. SOCI4098 cannot be taken if the student is taking or has taken SOCI4099. Available to students on a MA SSR programme (all pathways) in the School of Sociology and Social Policy.

Classes

This module is taught through a combination of lectures and seminars.

Assessment

• 100% Coursework: 2,000 words.

Assessed by end of spring semester

Educational Aims

Learning Outcomes

Knowledge and Understanding

1. Identify what international organisations (IOs) are (as opposed to INGOs, nation states and supranational institutions) and the role they play in global governance and public policy making. 
2. Distinguish between different types of IOs and identify how their inherent features determine how they pursue their global public policy objectives.
3. Recognise the competing theories on IO power and influence.

Intellectual Skills

1. Appraise various policy fields which IOs operate in and whether specific IOs compete or cooperate with each other in this field to shape public policy.
2. Analyse the strengths and limitations of IO influence over national governments and the public policy process.

Professional/Practical Skills

1. Perform global policy analysis, enabling them to analyse global public policy and the transnational policy process. 
2. Communicate complex data on IO activity in a concise and accessible format.

Transferable (Key) Skills

1. Manage the search for publications and resources from international organisations, assessing the content.
2. Perform content analysis and discourse analysis research methods that will be beneficial in a range of academic and professional settings.

Conveners

• Dr Martin Heneghan