4.0

Average Course Rating

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the challenge of understanding risk in international political and economic relations. We will study the nature of global risks, the methods on how to assess them and the challenge of formulating responses to them. We will also have the chance to introduce the practical side of political risk analysis by practitioners (guest lectures) and through concrete class exercises. Students will have to tackle ‘how’ we understand and ‘what’ we understand at the same time. Along the way, they will have to consider those things we cannot understand or anticipate with any meaningful degree of precision. As decision-makers in politics and business do, the students will have to deal with the ‘uncertainty’ that lies beyond the boundaries of ‘risk’. The subject matter is, for good or bad, open-ended. Virtually every aspect of politics or economics can be cast in terms of risk and uncertainty, no matter whether we look to the future or reflect upon the past. Therefore, the course builds on a thematically structured, case study approach. Each week introduces a new principle or policy area that is useful in understanding risk; each week provides cases that illustrate the usefulness of those principles. The ultimate goal is to be able to analyze matters of risk and uncertainty as they manifest around decisions taken by leaders in government or business in the real world.