S: Accelerated Change in World Politics: Theories, Actors, Strategies - SoSe 2026

Phenomena of accelerated change in world politics, variously interpreted as organic crisis, polycrisis, collapse of the liberal international order, a shift towards multipolarity, or democratic backsliding, among other concepts, are receiving increased attention in academic International Relations.

This seminar will evaluate such diagnoses through a dual focus on their theoretical, conceptual, and historical context on one hand, and on the practical strategies adopted by a variety of actors, but mostly by international governmental organizations (IGOs), on the other.

Students will therefore participate both in theoretical-conceptual debates as well as in policy discussions, with the aim of achieving intellectual synergies between the two. As an advanced seminar, classroom debates will generally be student-led, relying on a high degree of participant engagement.

The language of instruction in this course is English.