What you will study
In this module you'll explore the institutions of global governance, using environmental governance and the governance of outer space as topics of exploration. You'll examines these institutions and the regime through the context of justice and fairness particularly with regards to the Global South. You'll learn how to prepare an environmental case study and how to read and prepare policy briefs and policy papers.
You'll also explore environmental law, the challenges of climate change, the issues of climate injustice, and the possible remedies to it. This will include learning about planetary protection, the diversifying nature of space activities and those conducting them (as well as the need to diversify the space industry workforce) and the issues relating to resource use in the global commons (including outer space).
The module is divided into the following nine units and they all highlight the issues of participation, fairness, and justice in the global order:
Unit 1
You'll learn about the foundations of the international system, the sources of international law, and the key actors.
Unit 2
The focus is on the Global North-South divide, beginning with the impact of colonialism and the acquisition of territory by European powers. It will highlight the inequalities of the international system and the challenges that face the Global South.
Unit 3
You'll focus on international governance through treaties exploring the governance of climate change from the 1992 Rio Earth Summit to the Paris Climate change conference and beyond.
Unit 4
You'll explore the place of international courts in the international system and the change that they have brought to the way that the international system is governed. The unit will use transboundary pollution, rights of nature, and human rights litigation to explore the global governance through international courts.
Unit 5
In this unit you're introduced to nature-based solutions to the climate emergency, and you'll learn about the proposed amendment to the Statute of the International Criminal Court, adding Ecocide as a new international crime. You'll also learn how to produce an environmental case study in the form of a script for a podcast.
Unit 6
You'll be introduced to the core concepts of the governance of outer space, from the Outer Space Treaty to the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS) and more.
Unit 7
You'll look more specifically at the issues of planetary protection and nascent environmental issues such as space debris, examining the connections with terrestrial environmental issues and governance.
Unit 8
You'll examine the diversity of space actors (or lack of) – in the sense of the organisations, companies, and states engaged in space activities – and the people who comprise those entities.
Unit 9
You'll explore the governance of resource utilisation in the global commons, which includes outer space.
Vocational relevance
If you are intending to study this module as part of the Bachelor of Laws (LLB), and hope to enter the legal professions, you should read our Careers in Law information. There are different entry requirements into the legal professions in England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. It is your responsibility to ensure you meet these requirements.