Global Food Security - Einzelansicht

Day and time changed to Tuesdays 14:15-15:45 (updated March 20).

What is the global governance of food security and how does it differ from other issue areas in world politics? Who are the most important actors in the policy field? And what role do international organizations (IOs) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) play in global food security governance in general, and in the management of crises?

These questions guide our seminar. The course starts with an introduction to the global governance of food security and an overview of past and present food security crises. The seminar then turns to the actors in field: First, we zoom in on the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN) and the UN World Food Programme (WFP). Second, we look at various other IOs who are active in global food security and in the management of related crises, including the World Bank, the World Trade Organization (WTO), and the Group of Twenty (G20). Third, we turn to non-state actors in the field and detail the efforts by NGOs such as Action Against Hunger and celebrities like Bono or Rihanna in the global governance of food security. The course concludes with a review session.

• Clapp, Jennifer/Moseley, William G. (2020): This food crisis is different: COVID-19 and the fragility of the neoliberal food security order. In: The Journal of Peasant Studies, 47 (7), 1393-1417.
• Clapp, Jennifer/Murphy, Sophia (2013): The G20 and Food Security: a Mismatch in Global Governance? In: Global Policy, 4 (2), 129-138.
• Duncan, Jessica/Claeys, Priscilla (2018): Politicizing food security governance through participation: opportunities and opposition. In: Food Security, 10 (6), 1411-1424.
• Gustafson, Daniel J./Markie, John (2009): A Stronger Global Architecture for Food and Agriculture: Some Lessons from FAO’s History and Recent Evaluation. In: Clapp, Jennifer/Cohen, Marc J. (eds.): The Global Food Crisis: Governance Challenges and Opportunities. Waterloo, ON: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 179-192.
• Johnson, Tana (2016): Cooperation, co-optation, competition, conflict: international bureaucracies and non-governmental organizations in an interdependent world. In: Review of International Political Economy, 23 (5), 737-767.
• Liese, Andrea (2018): Food security. In: Risse, Thomas/Börzel, Tanja A./Draude, Anke (eds.): The Oxford Handbook of Governance and Limited Statehood. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 459-478.
• Margulis, Matias E. (2017): The Global Governance of Food Security. In: Koops, Joachim A./Biermann, Rafael (eds.): Palgrave Handbook of Inter-Organizational Relations in World Politics. London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, 503-525.
• Margulis, Matias E. (2014): The World Trade Organization and Food Securtiy after the Global Food Crises. In: Drache, Daniel/Jacobs, Lesley A. (eds.): Linking Global Trade and Human Rights: New Policy Space in Hard Economic Times. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 236-255.
• Partzsch, Lena (2018): Take Action Now: The Legitimacy of Celebrity Power in International Relations. In: Global Governance, 24 (2), 229-248.
• Ross, Sandy (2011): The World Food Programme in Global Politics. Boulder & London: FirstForumPress.
• Wolkenhauer, Anna (2021): International Organizations and Food: Nearing the End of the Lean Season? In: Martens, Kerstin/Niemann, Dennis/Kaasch, Alexandra (eds.): International Organizations in Global Social Governance. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 297-321.

The seminar is conducted mostly through on-site teaching with a few asynchronous online sessions. The e-learning-platform is Moodle.

The seminar takes place Tuesdays from 2.15pm (14:15) through 3.45pm (15:45). The course spans over 14 weeks (eleven on-site sessions, two asynchronous sessions, with the take-home exam in the final week of the term).

Attendance in the first session (April 2) is mandatory:
„Wer die erste Sitzung der Lehrveranstaltung versäumt, ohne sich vorher schriftlich oder persönlich zu entschuldigen, kann den Anspruch auf einen Platz in der LV verlieren, wenn es mehr Interessenten als Plätze gibt. Dies gilt ungeachtet der Platzzuweisung durch Friedolin und ist im Einklang mit der grundsätzlichen Aufhebung der Anwesenheitspflicht.”

Basic knowledge of theories of International Relations/International Organization is required.

Examination consists of a (group) presentation plus either a take-home exam or term paper.

Take-home exam deadlines: July 5, 2024 (second/repeat date: August 30, 2024).

Term paper deadlines: August 30, 2024 (second/repeat date: October 11, 2024).