MGA Courses

Term: Fall (September-December)
Day & Time: Monday 10 am-1 pm (LEC0101) & 2-5 pm (LEC0102) 
Instructor(s): Prof. Darius Ornston, Prof. Scott McKnight

Room: CG-160 (14 Queen's Park Circle)

Description: This course provides an introduction to cross-national study of the role of the state in industrial development, innovation, and business-government relations. The emphasis is on providing a broad base of the competing theoretical perspectives with particular attention to the different ways in which state and markets interact in rapid-innovation-based industries. Special consideration is given to the role of Science and Technology Industrial Policies, Innovation, and Economic Development. Centering our attention on politics the seminar examines the nature and extent of government in business and business in government.

Term: Fall (September-December)
Day & Time: Thursday 2-5 pm (LEC0101) & Friday 10 am - 1 pm (LEC0102)
Instructor(s): Prof. Moussa Blimpo, Prof. Wilson Prichard

Room: OI5150 (LEC0101) & CG-160 (LEC0102)

Description: This course introduces the key challenges that shape development policy at the international level. The course comprises three main components: first, an introduction to the main approaches to international development, covering economic (growth), political (governance) and social (civil society) perspectives; second, an overview of the primary international actors shaping development policy and outcomes, with a focus on the management and impact of foreign aid; and, third, detailed discussion of selected key issues, likely including economic liberalization, resource rents, conflict and post-conflict reconstruction, social development and participatory development. By the end of the course students will have a detailed knowledge of the most important contemporary debates in the field along with the analytical tools to engage with a broader range of development issues in practical work.

Term: Fall Required Courses (September-December)
Day & Time: Tuesday 11 am - 1pm (LEC0101) & Wednesday 10 am - Noon (LEC0102)
Tutorials: TBD
Instructor(s): Prof. Paola Salardi

Room: OI5250 (LEC0101) & OI2214 (LEC0102)

Description: The aim of this course is to introduce you to basic concepts in microeconomics, which will allow you to think systematically about economic issues. This course won’t turn you into an economist, but it will allow you to understand economic phenomena from a microeconomic perspective, using a conceptually sound, empirically driven approach. This foundational course in microeconomics will give you the basis on which to make evidence-based policy decisions by understanding how economic incentives work.

*An intermediate section is available for students with an advanced economics background.

Term: Fall Required Courses
Day & Time: Monday 2 - 5 pm (LEC0101) & Wednesday 2 - 5 pm (LEC0102)
Instructor(s): Prof. Nina Srinivasan Rathbun, Prof. Brian Rathbun

Room: OI5150 (LEC0101) & SS1087 (LEC0102)

Description: Analyses the global security architecture, grand strategy, and contemporary and emerging security challenges. Topics may include the evolution of contemporary national security doctrines, the implications of shifting loci of power for global security, the role and limits of multilateral security arrangements, the role of intelligence and intelligence failure, and threat assessments of emerging or ongoing security problems such as nuclear proliferation, terrorism, and insurgency.

Term: Fall Electives
Day & Time: Tuesday 9 -11am (LEC0101) & 11 am-1 pm (LEC0102)
Instructor(s): Prof. Caleb Pomeroy, Prof. Janice Stein

Room: OI5150

Description: This core elective introduces students to scholarship on the psychology of decision-making and the analytics of strategic thinking. Drawing from the literature on public policy making, behavioural economics, and strategic analysis, the seminar will develop the analytical tools and the practical leadership skills students need to navigate the intersection among the global economy, global institutions, and global civil society. Students are required to analyze and craft strategies to address global public policy problems in the context of the three sectors. *This course is open to MGA & MPP students only.

Term: Winter/Spring (January-April)
Day & Time: Tuesday 11 am-1 pm (LEC0101) & 2-5 pm (LEC0102)Tutorials: Monday 10 am-11 am (TUT0101) & 11 am - Noon (TUT0102)
Instructor(s): Prof. Rafael Gomez 

Room: OI5250

Description: Introduction to the key concepts of international trade and international finance, with attention to contemporary issues and policy. Empirically assesses alternative trade theories, and examines international commercial policy, international finance and macroeconomics, as well as their relationship to broader global issues. The course is designed to utilize understanding of international trade and international finance to help students think through real-world events and design policy responses. The supplementary readings thus deal with key world issues in order to illustrate the more abstract material and to engage with global economic policy challenge

*An intermediate section is available for students who have an advanced background in economics.

Term: Winter/Spring (January-April)
Day & Time: Wednesday 12 - 3 pm (LEC0101)

Tutorials: Thursday 10 am - 11 am (TUT0101) & 11 am - Noon (TUT0102)
Instructor(s): Prof. Tom Kemeny

Room: AH 400

Description: This course introduces quantitative methods to conduct research for policy purposes. The course introduces statistical concepts with a focus on applications that go from descriptive and inferential statistics to regression analysis and explores research design, case studies in the context of observational and experimental studies. Students will come away with a good grasp of the concepts such as correlation, causation, randomization and the use of data to evaluate policy choices and outcomes.

Term: Winter/Spring (January-April)
Day & Time: Friday 9 am- 12 pm (LEC0101) & 1-4 pm (LEC0102)
Instructor(s): Prof. Todd Foglesong

Room: CG-160

Description: This course focuses on challenges and opportunities on issues of justice, including attention to how claims to justice are made and how justice systems operate. Course materials will focus on attention to everyday and social movement demands for justice, the relationship between justice and inequality, calls for the reform of justice organizations, and the ways in which these challenges are addressed domestically, internationally, and in different parts of the world. The course will offer a survey of these issues with a focus on different substantive topics, that may include human rights and civil rights, current pressures on justice systems, substantive concerns such as violence, international migration, corruption and illicit trades, and issues of systemic bias. At the core of each of these topics is a focus on justice systems in action, including ideals of justice and the capacity to deliver on these ideals, rather than a primary emphasis on doctrinal legal rules, and the ways in which states, non-state actors, and international organizations address justice system challenges. Given that these are both domestic and international issues, this course provides students with a lens on how justice questions provide insight into the future of democratic societies, as well as the changing world order.

Term: Winter/Spring (January-April)
Day & Time: Monday 2-5 pm  (LEC0101) 
Instructor(s): Prof. John Robinson

Room: OI5170

Description: GLA2029 is based on the idea of cities as intertidal zones between top-down and bottom-up approaches to research, policy analysis and activism on climate change. These two approaches are associated with two worlds of researchers, policy-makers and activists:

1. A world focussing on global, international, and regional policy and decision-making, that sometimes reaches down to the urban scale and municipal policy-making
2. A world focussing on local community and neighbourhood action, that reaches up to municipal policy and policy-makers

The city is thus a littoral space where top-down and bottom-up work intersects, each with different implications for sustainability and climate action in the city.

This course will adopt this framing and make connections between these two worlds with respect to sustainability and urban climate action in Toronto.

Term: Winter/Spring (January-April)
Day & Time: Thursday 2 - 4 pm *New day/time
Instructor(s): Prof. Niloufar Pourzand 

Room: TBD

Description: In this Course, we would explore what ethics is, how it is different from morality, and also from human rights.  In addition, we would examine the premises of each as well as their interconnections at the global, regional, national, institutional and personal level.  Also, we would delve into the ethical principles of human rights and the ethnical obligations to respect human rights.  These would be situated within the context of International Development/Humanitarian work and praxis as well as geo-political paradigms – with concrete case-studies, some emanating from the lived experiences of International Development/Humanitarian practitioners and leaders.

Term: Winter/Spring (January-April)
Day & Time: Wednesday 10 am-Noon (LEC0101) & 2-4pm (LEC0102)
Instructor(s): Prof. David Zarnett

Room: SU255

Description: In this course students will learn the basics of research and project design. Students will learn how to conduct a literature review, construct a research questions and hypotheses, conduct case study analysis from both primary and secondary data. As the course is a gateway to working on client projects in the second semester as part of GLA2000H Capstone Seminar, students will learn how to work with clients, how to work in teams, presentation skills, memo and report writing. 

This is a required course for MGA students. It is closed to non-MGA students.

Term: Winter/Spring required courses
Day & Time: Wednesday afternoons
Instructor(s): Prof. Benoit Gomis (Security), Prof. Rory Johnston (Markets), Prof. David Morley (Development), Prof. David Zarnett (Justice)

Room(s): Various

Description: The Capstone course will rely on clients –representing the private sector, an international organization, a non-governmental organization, or government — and students will work in teams to tackle a current issue confronting these clients and their organizations. Students will learn to analyze these problems across dimensions of global economy and markets, global institutions, and global civil society. Throughout the course, students will engage in activities designed to assist global problem-solvers, while also looking for opportunities to defend and advance their clients’ organizational interests.

For more information on the Capstone and to view past clients click here.

*Please note: Information on the Capstone projects to be released later this year. Students will have the opportunity to indicate their preferences from among a selection of projects. Capstone does not count towards MGA emphasis specializations.

Emphases: Global Security, Global Policy
Term: Fall (September-December)
Day & Time: Tuesday 12-2 pm
Instructor(s): Prof. Andres Kasekamp

Room: B019, 315 Bloor St. West, Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Description: A comparative examination of the emergence and upsurge of populist radical right parties in contemporary Europe. The course will begin with historical context, definitions and typologies, before exploring topics including ideology and issues; leaders, members and voters; political parties, organizations and subcultures; transnational influences and networking; patterns of response by mainstream parties and radical right parties in public office. This course will analyze several country cases in detail, including France, Austria, the Netherlands, Italy, Denmark, Hungary, Finland and Estonia. A basic knowledge of recent European history and comparative politics is required.

*Please note this course has 10 spots for MGA students and 10 spots for CERES students.

Emphases: Global Development, Global Markets
Term: Fall (September-December)
Day & Time: Friday Noon-2pm 
Instructor(s): Prof. Arturo Franco

Room: B019, 315 Bloor St. West, Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Description: In recent decades, inequality has emerged as a global concern and one of the defining issues of our time. This course explores the ways government, international financial and multilateral organizations, private sector and social sector leaders are shaping the future of economic inclusion.

A key objective of this course is to identify and develop opportunities for intersectoral collaboration. Students will be outlining strategies, policies and actions that different sectors can take to move their communities and economies towards equity and prosperity.

The course practicum is designed to follow the Built For All framework, developed by the Center for Inclusive Growth. Additionally, students will have the opportunity to work on a group-based “pitch” to an active board member of the Mastercard Impact Fund.

Emphases: Global Security
Term: Fall (September-December)
Day & Time: Tuesday 2 -4 pm 
Instructor(s): Prof. Jack Cunningham

Room: TC 22 (Trinity College)

Description: This course covers changes to Canada’s defence policy and military posture since the late 1980s. Early sessions will address Canada’s Cold War stance, the Mulroney government’s response to the winding down of East-West hostilities, and Canadian involvement in the First Gulf War. Subsequent classes will discuss the impact of the defence spending reductions of the 1990s, the Chretien government’s 1994 Defence White Paper, and the debate over the role of the Canadian military and the military instrument more broadly, in the post-Cold War international environment.

*Please note this course is capped at 7 MGA students. This is a joint course with Trinity College IR undergraduate program. It is only open to MGA students.

Emphases: Global Security, Human Rights and Global Justice, Global Markets
Term: Fall (September-December)
Day & Time: Thursday 10 am-Noon 
Instructor(s): Prof. Benoit Gomis

Room: B019, 315 Bloor St. West, Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Description: This course focuses on the illicit trade in legal and illegal drugs (e.g. opioids, cannabis, tobacco). After an overview of key characteristics, trends, factors, and impacts of illicit trade worldwide, students will learn methods to research illicit trade and estimate the size of illicit markets and explore challenges associated with illicit trade data overall. Following this introduction, the course will assess to what extent illicit markets are inherently violent, and explore the links between illicit trade and terrorism. Case studies will include the impact of legalization/regulation on the illicit cannabis trade, the complicity of the tobacco industry in the illicit tobacco trade, and the opioid crisis in the U.S. and Canada. Finally, the course will tackle policy options against the illicit drug trade, in particular, the international drug control regime and the WHO FCTC Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products, as well as their implementations at country-level.

This course is open to MGA students in year two only.

Emphases: Global Security, The Digital World
Term: Fall (September-December)
Day & Time: Tuesday 2-4 pm 
Instructor(s): Prof. Ronald Deibert

Room: OI2289 (New room!)

Description: This course is an intensive examination of the evolving terrain of global digital‐electronic‐telecommunications through the lens of the research of the Citizen Lab (https://citizenlab.ca/). After setting the stage with some general readings on background and context, we turn to several modules organized as detailed examinations of the Citizen Lab’s mixed methods research on information controls, including analyzing Internet censorship and surveillance, investigating targeted digital espionage, uncovering privacy and security risks of mobile applications, security and privacy issues around COVID19, and the role of the private sector in information controls. We conclude with an exploration of threat modelling and how each of you can improve your own digital hygiene.

Emphases: Human Rights & Global Justice
Term: Fall (September-December)
Day & Time: Thursday 1-3 pm  

Instructor: Prof. Benoit Gomis

Room: Scheybal Seminar Room, 14th Floor of Robarts Library

Description: This course provides students with an opportunity to learn about and reflect on the continuously evolving tobacco industry playbook. The course will begin   with an overview of the industry (e.g. key products, harms, figures, and players), before delving into its history. This will include the role of European settlers in colonizing and industrializing tobacco, the emergence of the industry in the US and Europe in the late 1800s and early 1900s, the intricate relationship between the industry and the two world wars (including post-WWII reconstruction in Europe), and the consolidation and entrenchment of the industry into Big Tobacco (i.e. Philip Morris International, British American Tobacco, and Imperial Brands – all headquartered in Europe, and Japan Tobacco International). After looking into research methodologies, the course will then explore the industry’s main business and political strategies and tactics overtime, with a particular focus on Europe and Eurasia. These notably include producing and distributing addictive products (e.g. sales and marketing strategies, tobacco product supply chains), controlling information (e.g. concealing evidence of harms, funding research and influencing media to sow doubt and push certain narratives), undermining policy and lack of government capacity in particular in LMICs (i.e. through direct lobbying and allies), and rebranding itself as the solution to problems it created, e.g. to smoking with vaping, and to illicit trade with anti-illicit trade initiatives. Key case studies will include China (the world’s largest cigarette producer) and Russia and Ukraine, with an exploration of how Big Tobacco captured post-Soviet Union markets through smuggling, how Ukraine long served as a smuggling hub for Big Tobacco companies, and how those companies responded to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. We will then explore how the tobacco industry playbook has been replicated in other industries, and discuss implications for research, policy, and practice.

Emphases: Global Markets
Term: Fall (September-December)
Day & Time: Thursday 2-4 pm 
Instructor(s): Prof. Mark Manger

Room: B019

Description: The course introduces students to international monetary and financial relations over the last century, and focuses on the issues of financial power, cooperation, conflict and institutions in the world economy. Topics covered are the politics of exchange rate adjustment, the role of the IMF, the political economy of financial crises, and the domestic and international political implications of global monetary developments. Case studies are used to link theory, policy and practice.

Emphases: Global Policy
Term: Fall (September-December)
Day & Time: Wednesday 9:30 am-12 pm
Instructor(s): Prof. Mel Cappe

Room: CG-361, Canadiana Gallery, 14 Queens Park Cres W.

Description: This course explores the complexity of current government policy-making in a comparative perspective. Students will examine the rationales for and the limits to government intervention and will identify the policy levers available to government actors in a dynamic political context. The course explores the government’s role in the financing and delivery of public policy goals while balancing concerns of efficiency and equity. Students will explore substantive and procedural issues in a range of major policy areas such as trade, security, redistribution, health care, the environment, indigenous peoples issues and urban policy.

*There are 5 spots for MGA students

Emphases: Human Rights & Global Justice
Term: Fall (September-December)
Day & Time: Tuesday 6-8 pm 
Instructor(s): Bryce Edwards, David Walders

Room: TBD

Description:  This seminar will deal with selected issues in Aboriginal law and policy. It is intended to bring together law students and students of public policy, and to broaden the perspective of both potential lawyers and policy makers. The topics will include:

• The Policy and Law Continuum/Current Conditions
• The Doctrine of Discovery and Terra Nullius
• First Contact, First Treaties
• The Indian Act, Numbered Treaties and Residential Schools
• White Paper, Red Paper, Calder and Patriation
• Duty to Consult and Aboriginal Title
• Modern Treaties
• Child Welfare
• Identity, Membership and Status
• Métis and Mixed Ancestry Aboriginal Peoples
• Decolonizing Wealth
• Paths to Reconciliation

*There are 5 spots for MGA students

Emphases: Innovation Policy
Term: Fall (September-December)
Day & Time: Monday 11:30 am - 1 :30 pm 
Instructor(s): Prof. Scott McKnight

Room: B019, 315 Bloor St. West, Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Description: The shift from a fossil fuel-centric energy system to one based on renewables and low-carbon energy is fast-unfolding but still has a long way to go. While reducing carbon emissions and dependence on fossil fuels is the goal, there is a fierce geopolitical and industrial competition also at play, with every major economy trying to gain advantage in researching, designing and manufacturing technologies for the low-carbon economy. Because energy and national power are intimately linked, this course asks whether the transition to a ‘net-zero’ economy will become the latest site of geopolitical competition between the US and China; who (countries, regions and companies) will gain and who will lose from this transition, and what are the major obstacles standing in the way. This semester-long course will break down the major technologies that have grown in importance in recent years and the policies that supported their growth. It will also analyze the recent revival of big innovation policy, including America’s Inflation Reduction Act, China’s recent five-year plans and Europe’s REPowerEU plan. We also discuss ‘critical minerals’ and the incipient mining boom because these inputs are vital to these low-carbon technologies that will be needed in much greater quantities than today.  

Emphases: Global Policy
Term: Fall (September-December)
Day & Time: Thursday 10 am-12 pm
Instructor(s): Prof. Graham Watson

Room: Transit House, 315 Bloor St. West, Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Description: The aim of this course is to give students a thorough understanding of how and why the EU came into existence, how it became a world power, how it takes decisions and why the United Kingdom first hesitated to join, then joined and subsequently - having spent fifty years reforming the EU in its own image – chose to leave again. A glimpse into future scenarios will look at the potential impact of this development, particularly with regard to relations between the EU and North America. Through a series of lectures, student research presentations, film showings and discussions with visiting speakers, course participants will be encouraged to ask questions and seek answers to the major strategic implications of the EU’s emergence and its role in the world today.

Emphases: Innovation Policy
Term: Fall (September-December)
Day & Time: Thursday 2-4 pm
Instructor(s): Prof. Natasha Freidus
 

Room: Transit House, 315 Bloor St. West, Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Description: This course explores the growing role of triple-bottom-line businesses that seek to advance the well-being of people and the planet. Social entrepreneurs innovate to address complex social and environmental challenges: the climate emergency, poverty, healthcare, and humanitarian aid, to name a few. Through hands-on exercises, case studies, guest lectures, and readings we will explore multiple questions: 
• How do successful social entrepreneurs leverage social innovation to help achieve long-term, sustainable change?
• What are the business models underpinning social enterprises? How do we measure success?
• How do social enterprises interact with existing private, public, and nonprofit sectors to achieve impact?

Emphases: Global Policy, Global Security
Term: Fall (September-December)
Day & Time: Tuesday 10 am-12 pm
Instructor(s): Prof. Sverrir Steinsson

Room: Transit House, 315 Bloor St. West, Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Description: This course explores the role of state size in world politics. Students will consider different ways to categorize states and analyze the ways in which power is exercised in world politics. The course explores how states have varied in size over the course of history and seeks to explain this variation. Students will consider the unique political, economic, and social advantages, disadvantages, challenges, and needs of states of varying sizes. Lastly, the course seeks to understand how and whether the size of states explains their foreign policy behaviors, economic outcomes, and domestic policies.

Emphases: Global Markets, Global Policy
Term: Fall (September-December)
Day & Time: Tuesday 12-2 pm
Instructor(s): Prof. Jonathan D. Ostry

Room: Transit House

Description: Neoliberal thinking has dominated economic policy advice for decades. Such thinking is premised on the notion that policy makers should “go for growth” because a rising tide lifts all boats. Politicians increasingly reject such advice as being at best politically naïve and at worst responsible for outcomes that have not been inclusive (some boats rise much higher than others with the tide—higher inequality). Policy makers need to make choices about both the level of economic growth and the inclusiveness of such growth, taking account of interactions between the two variables, including the extent to which high inequality undercuts the sustainability of healthy economic growth.

This course will familiarize students with a range of empirical evidence on the growth experience of both advanced and developing countries; about the nexus between economic reforms and growth; and about the drivers of rising inequality, including policy drivers. It will also cover the political economy of reform, including how to design pro-growth policies that do not contribute to an electoral backlash.

The course will equip students with an understanding of the evidentiary basis of policy advice on economic growth and inequality, including as proffered by multilateral financial and development institutions (e.g., the IMF and World Bank). Students wishing to position themselves for careers in such institutions, or in economic advisory roles in national administrations, will benefit from the course.

Emphases: Global Security 
Term: Fall (September-December)
Day & Time: Wednesday Noon-2pm
Instructor(s): Prof. Dani Nedal 

Room: B019, 315 Bloor St. West, Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Description: The taming of the atom is one of the defining features of the modern era. The awesome creative and destructive potential of nuclear energy has had an enormous impact on great power politics, interstate conflict, the environment, economic development, and international institutions. Limiting the risk of nuclear Armageddon is one of the dominant challenges in international security, foreign policy, and global governance alike. In this course, we will study 1) why and how countries pursue nuclear weapons and what happens when they acquire them; 2) the national policies and international regimes that have been devised to curb their spread and use, while allowing for the diffusion of peaceful applications of this technology, 3) the national and transnational civil society movements that have fought to roll back the nuclear age or limit its harmful effects, and 4) the role of private actors such as scientists and corporations.

Emphases: Global Security, Global Policy 
Term: Fall (September-December)
Day & Time: Thursday Noon-2pm
Instructor(s): Prof. Dani Nedal 

Room: Transit House, 315 Bloor St. West, Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Description: This course provides a survey of US foreign policy from its emergence as a global power in World War I. We will cover topics such as American entry into the Great War, the League of Nations and America’s role in global self-determination movements, the perennial battles between isolationism and internationalism, the creation of a US-led world order after 1945, nuclear strategy and nuclear nonproliferation, the modern domestic politics of foreign policy, the international dimensions of the Civil Rights movement, US covert action, the challenges of managing unipolarity, and contemporary issues of climate change, humanitarian intervention, terrorism, international economic policy, and US-China competition. This is an interdisciplinary course that marries American, Diplomatic, and Military History with International Relations and Political Science. We will make ample use of primary sources and some data analysis. By the end of the semester, students should have acquired a broad understanding of the most important foreign policy events of the last century, the drivers of continuity and change in US behavior, and have the tools to analyze contemporary foreign policy decision-making.

Emphases: Global Justice and Human Rights
Term: Fall (September-December)
Day & Time: Thursday 12-2pm 
Instructor(s): Prof. Ayelet Shachar 

Room: B019, 315 Bloor St. West, Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Description: Citizenship and immigration have become a hot-button political issue in recent years in Canada, as well as in many other destination countries. Debates range from admission questions – who should be allowed to enter, according to what criteria, and for how long – to queries about the civil rights of migrants, cultural diversity, and the level of integration that can legitimately be expected from newcomers once they have settled in the country. Another emerging topic is the growing impact of economic remittances, transnational investments, and political contributions by dual citizens in both sending and receiving countries. This course will draw upon domestic, comparative and international law, as well as political theory and social science literature to explore these new developments. Emphasis will also be given to the impact of globalization on the rise of supranational and non-territorial conceptions of membership and the future governance of citizenship regimes.

*This course is a three-week intensive course. 

Emphases: Global Policy, Global Security, Global Development

Term: Fall (September-December)

Day & Time: October 3,7,8,10,15,17,21, 22

Instructor(s): Prof. Arif Lalani

Room: Various 

Description: As the west clings to 20th century institutions, the rest of the world reflects a new geography, building a new set of institutions and perspective for prosperity and security.

The West has projected power and provided security across the globe, dominated intellectually the atomic, computer and knowledge transitions; and its culture has proliferated across all societies. The western liberal democracies were seen as the answer to the Soviet Union’s dehumanizing empire. The architecture that successfully regulated global order for over 70 years - NATO, G7, EU, NAFTA, IFIs, and even the UN reflects a Euro-Atlantic centred geography of the “like-minded” (including Australia, New Zealand, Japan and often South Korea). Except for APEC, the institutions, and structures of the Euro-Atlantic world have remained only for the like-minded, with a few exceptions. In all cases, the West took for granted that the Euro-Atlantic advantage was self-evident – people wanted to be like us.

That premise no longer holds as true. Economic power has reverted to Eurasia stretching from The Gulf States (West Asia) to Central, South, and East Asia. For the first time in history China is the largest trading partner for the US and for the EU, decoupling their commercial link and complicating the idea that global relations can be neatly divided between democratic and authoritarian states.

New institutions compete with the Euro-Atlantic institutional framework. Consequently, the institutions of the EuroAtlantic world less easily deliver the outcomes it seeks.

This course will examine the basis of the Euro-Atlantic dominated global order, and how governments, the private sector and citizens should navigate the changing geography of the geo-political order. How should the evolution be framed – a new cold war, a shift of power away from the West; how does a new order look and how can we help shape it.

Emphases: The Digital World

Term: Fall (September-December)

Day & Time: Thursday 2-4 pm 

Instructor(s): Prof. Blair Attard-Frost

Room: TBD

Description: This course will introduce students to the implications of artificial intelligence (AI) for ethics and governance. In response to ethical and practical concerns posed by the development and use of AI systems, many government institutions, intergovernmental bodies, corporations, and other organizations have launched governance initiatives intended to maximize the benefits and prevent the potential harms of AI systems. Students will learn about the lifecycle of AI systems, common types of AI systems and applications, as well as a variety of theoretical, practical, and critical perspectives on AI ethics and AI governance. A wide range of initiatives intended to govern AI systems will be covered, including policies, legislation, strategies, programs, standards, and guidance documents from Canada, the European Union, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the private sector. In assignments, students will gain experience individually and as part of a team assessing a variety of approaches to AI ethics and AI governance, comparing AI governance initiatives across jurisdictions and sectors, and reporting on gaps in and opportunities for improving AI governance initiatives.

*There are 10 spaces for MGA students. 

Emphases: N/A

Term: Fall (September-December)

Day & Time: Thursday 10 am - Noon

Instructor(s): Prof. Jillian Kohler

Room: PHM1139

Description: This graduate course will introduce interested and curious students to the core concepts associated with corruption generally and corruption and the health sector specifically, with a particular focus on the pharmaceutical sector. We will start the seminar with a broad discussion about corruption, what it is, how to define it and examine how it is measured. We will then examine how international organizations are dealing with corruption in their development projects. The course will then move on to specific modules dealing with core topics related to corruption and the health sector. The course will consist of lectures, class discussions and group work through case studies. Research papers and presentations will provide students with the opportunity to probe an issue of interest.

*This course has 5 spaces for MGA students. 

Emphases: Global Policy 

Term: Fall (September-December)

Day & Time: Wednesday 2:00 - 4:00 pm

Instructor(s): Prof. David Pettinicchio

Room: TF 202

Description: This course examines the institutional and cultural contexts informing the dynamic interplay between disability and social policy. This inherently involves situating disability within social, economic, legal and political contexts. As such, we will focus on how disability serves as a basis for exclusion by social policy and the ways in which policymakers and policy elites more broadly have considered or neglected disability in creating and implementing a variety of different policies – from social welfare to criminal justice. We will examine social justice and human rights policy frames, how courts have interpreted policies dealing with issues of access and antidiscrimination, labour market inequalities and, the evolution of disability politics which sheds light on the disability rights movement and the future of disability-related policy. Finally, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic which has made extant policy failures all the more acute, we will discuss disability status in relation to policy responses during times of crises and what this says about enduring forms of inequality.

The main objective of this seminar-style course is to further our knowledge of the sociopolitical and historical contexts surrounding disability with a special focus on policy and the law.

This course will:

• Shed light on the socio-historical context surrounding disability especially when it comes to the development of law and policy.Analyze continuity and change in our understandings and treatments of disability across different spheres of life.
• Understand how definitions (including legal/policy/administrative definitions) of disability, disability politics and policy approaches change over time.
• Understand the relationship between individuals, social institutions and the law/policy.
• Consider the intersection of different statuses (gender, race, etc.) with disability and how these shape social and political outcomes.
• Understand the nature of policy consequences (intended and unintended) and how people with disabilities have politically mobilized around rights.

Emphases: Global Policy 

Term: Fall (September-December)

Day & Time: Thursday 10 am - 1 pm 

Instructor(s): Prof. Maurice Bitran 

Room: TBD

Description: From climate change to stem cells there is hardly an area subject to public policy decisions that is not informed by science yet courses that deal on how to assess, weigh and integrate scientific information into policy analyses. This course encourages the development of a critical approach to the use of scientific data in the policy context. To examine the interaction of societal values and scientific information in the development of public policy. To discuss different frameworks for the use of scientific information in the development of public policy.

• This course is open to MGA students only. 
• Students must secure their own supervisor. The supervisor must be a UofT professor (not a course instructor or sessional lecturer). To find a professor who teaches in your research interest, visit the UofT Blue Book. The Blue Book can be searched by areas of research and it will display all the faculty at UofT that specialize in that area. 
• This course is offered in both the fall term and winter term. Students can only take the course once.
• The student will confirm with the supervisor a learning plan and deliverables. The final paper can't be worth more than 80% of the final grade. A typical reading course will have a final paper worth 60% and an annotated bibliography and research paper outline worth 40%. However, this can be negotiated with the supervisor.
• The time commitment should also be negotiated with the supervisor. The supervisor can request to meet with the student as little as once a month if that is agreeable to the student.
• Students must complete a Request for Reading and/or Research Course form Download Request for Reading and/or Research Course form. They are responsible for getting all necessary signatures and submitting the form to the MGA Program Office for enrollment in the course. Forms must be submitted before the last day to add courses.
• Supervisors should be instructed to send their final grades to the MGA Program Coordinator by the final grade deadline.

Emphases: Global Policy, Global Markets

Term: Fall (September-December)

Day & Time: Thursday 11am-1pm 

Instructor(s): TBD

Room: TBD

Description: This course explores the rise of Asia and its integration into the new global economy (labour, capitalism, knowledge economy, economic nationalism, inequality, gender, the meaning of capitalism, democracy, among others), exposing students to diverse disciplinary perspectives. Geographical coverage is pan-Asian, including East, Southeast and South Asia.

Emphases: Global Policy

Term: Fall (September-December)

Day & Time: Wednesday 10am-Noon

Instructor(s): TBD

Room: TBD

Description: This course aims to provide students with a critical understanding of the politics of Asia, including some of the most pressing political-economic issues the countries face, and framing of the issues in a historical context. The course begins with some theoretical explorations of pertinent questions, namely how do we explain the emergence of liberty, and why are some nations rich while others poor? What are “developmental states”, and are they unique to Asia? Is there a rise in contentious politics in Asia? The rest of the course answers these questions by juxtaposing the authoritarian politics of China against emerging democracies in Asia. It asks to what extent China has followed the “Asia Model” and explores the increasing influence of China on other small Asian nations.

Emphases: Global Policy

Term: Fall (September-December)

Day & Time: Thursday 10am-12:30pm

Instructor(s): Prof. George Vegh

Room: OI2211

Description: In June 2021, Parliament enacted the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act, which establishes a framework for Greenhouse Gas (GHG) reduction initiatives; in March 2020, Canada announced its targets to reduce GHG emissions to 40-50% of 2005 levels by 2030 and net zero emissions by 2050.  None of Canada’s previous emission reduction targets has been achieved.  Instead, apart from COVID-driven 2020 production reductions, Canada’s GHG emissions have continued to increase.  So success is not guaranteed. 

Energy produces 80% of Canada’s GHG emissions and energy regulation will be central to achieving those targets.

There are several specific GHG policy proposals that are aimed at achieving GHG reduction targets through transitioning the energy sectors.  The two key areas of focus of these policies are: 

(i) reducing emissions from fossil fuel production and

(ii) transforming provincial electricity systems to:

(a) Replace electricity generated by coal, oil and gas with electricity generated by emissions free fuel, largely renewable nuclear power; and

(b) An electrification policy aimed at vastly increasing not-emitting electricity supply to replace fossil fuels used in transportation, heating, and heavy industry.

Both of these transitions represent fundamental and challenging changes to current energy policy.

Term: Winter/Spring (January-April)
Day & Time: Thursday 9 am - 11 am
Instructor(s): Prof. Donald Kingsbury

Room: B019, 315 Bloor St. West, Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Description: The course supports students in the dual degree programs (MPP/MGA, MIA/MGA, MPA/MGA) to develop their research question and arguments, review relevant research, choose an appropriate methodology for analysis, and present first empirical findings in preparation for their respective final papers.

*This course is open to MGA Dual Degree students only.

Emphases: Global Security, The Digital World
Term: Winter/Spring (January-April)
Day & Time: Monday 5:30-7:30pm
Instructor(s): Prof. Branka Marijan

Room: B019, 315 Bloor St. West, Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Description: Information technology is ubiquitous. It powers the global economy, improves government administration, enhances military power, and connects modern civil society. For the same reasons, technology creates new opportunities to leverage these same networks for espionage, subversion, and disruption. While the technology is new, practices of deception and counterintelligence are very old. This course examines the problems of cybersecurity through the lens of intelligence. Students will be introduced to enduring concepts from the world of intelligence and learn to apply them through a series of case studies of modern cyber conflict.

Emphases: Global Security
Term: Winter/Spring (January-April)
Day & Time: Monday 2-4 pm
Instructor(s): Prof. Jack Cunningham

Room: TBD

Description: This course examines the nature and dynamics of war throughout history, as they have been understood by major thinkers and writers from the ancient Greeks to contemporary theorists. 

*Please note this course is capped at 7 MGA students.

*This course is offered through the MPP program and has 10 spaces for MGA students.

Emphases: Human Rights and Global Justice
Term: Winter/Spring (January-April)
Day & Time: Tuesday 12-2 pm
Instructor(s): Prof. Diana Fu

Room: B019, 315 Bloor St. West, Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Description: This course examines contentious politics—protests, social movements, and state repression. It explores questions such as why people protest, how they organize, and the outcomes of contention. The course challenges students to examine popular contention across a range of states in Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and Latin America.

Emphases: Global Security
Term: Winter/Spring (January-April)
Day & Time: Wednesday 10 am-Noon
Instructor(s): Prof. Benoît Gomis

Room: B019, 315 Bloor St. West, Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Description: Focuses on key opportunities and challenges in researching terrorism and terrorism financing. After an analysis of the practice of terrorism research and some of the main pitfalls associated with it, students learn how to access information about terrorism, approach the issue of terrorism financing, build and use databases of terrorist attacks, evaluate counterterrorism policies, and write about terrorism and counterterrorism. These skills are essential for relevant careers in think tanks, academia, government, the media, NGOs, IGOs, and the private sector.

*This course is offered jointly with CERES. It is open to MA CERES and MGA students only.

Emphases: Global Policy 
Term: Winter/Spring (January-April)

Day & Time: Thursday 1-4 pm
Instructor(s): Prof. Drew Fagan

Room: CG-361, 14 Queen's Park, Canadiana Building

Description: The first four weeks will focus on the basics of policymaking, particularly from the perspective of the non-partisan public service. How do governments set and prioritize their agenda? What is the process of interaction between political officials, including ministers, and the public service? How do stakeholders – interest groups and citizens alike – engage in the process? How do public servants choose and design delivery methods to turn policy proposals into initiatives. What can go wrong and how can one best avoid this? How are results assessed? How does one communicate appropriately and effectively, including in the era of social media and the 24/7 news cycle.

Specific examples will be cited often. Students will do a Briefing Note assignment individually on a topical issue, based on a template common in government for the written briefing of senior officials and ministers.

The second four weeks will apply these learnings to the global context in which Canada operates and engages, including vis-à-vis Europe. While the first four weeks will be based on lectures, decks and discussions, the second four weeks will also benefit from presentations and discussions with seniors practitioners. Students will prepare and present a Minister’s Briefing deck on a topical issue of importance to Canada’s global interests and values and/or international policy broadly. This presentation is designed to mimic what its like inside government. Students will work in teams of four, applying a template common in government for the oral briefing of senior officials and ministers.

Students will be assessed on a marking rubric of: 40 per cent for the briefing note assignment, 40 per cent for the minister’s briefing assignment and 20 per cent for class participation.

Emphases: Innovation Policy
Term: Winter/Spring (January-April)
Day & Time: Tuesday 6:00-8:00pm 

Instructor: Prof. Matt Wilder

Room: Transit House, 315 Bloor St. West, Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Description: This course takes a multidisciplinary approach to examining how society responds to technological change. Themes include innovation and industrial policy, finance, skills development and just transitions with a focus on energy, agriculture, health, transportation and infrastructure. Over the course of the term, students will use the knowledge gained from readings and class discussions to compile a professional policy brief that compares alternatives and offers advice to a public, private or non-profit entity of the student’s choosing. Successful students will be well-positioned for careers as consultants and advisors in the innovation domain.

 Recommended text: Phillips, Peter. (2007). Governing transformative technological innovation: who’s in charge? Edward Elgar.

Emphases: Global Policy
Term: Winter/Spring (January-April)
Day & Time: Thursday 2-4 pm 
Instructor(s): Prof. Diana Fu

Room: B019, 315 Bloor St. West, Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Description: This course presents the major political and social transitions in the People’s Republic of China, with a focus on domestic politics in the post-reform era (1979-present). Delving beyond news headlines, the course challenges students to examine the conditions that have catapulted China from a poor, developing nation to a global power in three decades, as well as the political and social consequences of such rapid change. Part I of the course introduces the major structural changes in China. Part II of the course delves into ongoing and controversial issues in the headlines. Together, these two parts combine an overview of major political reform with a topical focus on ongoing scholarly debates in the study of Chinese politics.

Emphases: Innovation Policy
Term: Winter/Spring (January-April)
Day & Time: Monday Noon-2pm
Instructor(s): Prof. Damian Dupuy

Room: B019, 315 Bloor St. West, Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Description: The course will explore a range of issues related to the emergence of new disruptive or transformative technologies and how they are shaping, and being shaped by, innovation and industrial policy globally. It will address the social consequences of these new technologies and examine how innovation polices and strategies in many jurisdictions are adapting to this disruption and creating new opportunities for economic growth. Topics that this course will address include: defining disruptive technologies; the role of new disruptive technologies in productivity and economic growth; the impact of disruptive technologies on labour markets; the Net Zero imperative and the rise of new environmental technologies; the emergence of AI and other digital technologies; the geography of disruptive technologies; and, how institutions regionally, nationally and internationally are adapting to this disruption through a comparative review of innovation policies and strategies.

*This course is a three-week intensive course. 

Emphases: Global Policy, Global Security

Term: Winter/Spring (January-April)

Day & Time: Jan 27, 28, 30, Feb, 3, 4, 6, 10, 11 (2-5pm)

Instructor(s): Prof. Arif Lalani

Room: TBD

Description: The Middle East is changing, dramatically. The conventional “geography” of the Middle East typically addressed by western audiences has focused on conflict around the Levant.

For over 70 years the West’s policy on the Middle East has been based on two premises: first, that a resolution of the Palestinian problem and a “two-state solution” is the key to broader peace in the Middle East; and second, that Israel and the Arab oil exporting countries of the region are perpetual enemies. How relevant are these premises today? In 2020, the “Abraham Accords” opened the door to normalizing diplomatic and commercial relations between Israel and its neighbours (UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan). Most recently the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran have normalised their diplomatic relations. These developments take place in a context which includes security, human rights, economic development and other issues involving global actors and broader international issues.

The Arab Gulf states seem to be at the centre of this “new geography” of the Middle East. The global reach of the Gulf states could prove to be important to global priorities, including the shift to a green economy, addressing food insecurity in the developing world, cyber security and technology.

Are we seeing a new Middle East emerge? What are the implications for enduring conflicts, for global issues, and transformation? The course will examine these issues, including through guest presentations. The course will reflect a practioner’s perspective. How do we assess important changes for senior policy makers, make sense of the implications and opportunities, arrive at practical policy recommendations? Students will work on policy documents designed to help senior policy makers navigate the changing contours of a new Middle East and what it means for governments, their citizens, and other stakeholders.

Emphases: N/A
Term: Winter/Spring (January-April)
Day & Time: Thursday 11-2 pm 
Instructor(s): Prof. John Robinson

Room: TBD

Description: This course will examine how attitudes towards human nature and non-human nature have changed in Western society over the period from Mesolithic times until the present. By reading and discussing historical arguments and contemporary documents we will attempt to uncover the underlying assumptions about the world that have been characteristic of different periods in the history of Western culture, how and why they have changed, and those that are prevalent today. The underlying question is whether contemporary concerns about sustainability require fundamental changes in the way we conceive of ourselves and our environment.

Emphases: The Digital World, Global Security
Term: Winter/Spring (January-April)
Day & Time: Tuesday 10am-Noon
Instructor(s): Prof. Sverrir Steinsson

Room: B019, 315 Bloor St. West, Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Description: This course explores how the Internet and digital technology more broadly are affecting politics, as well as how politics is affecting the Internet. Students will consider ways in which the Internet is affecting relations between states. This can include the creation of new governance structures to regulate the Internet, as well as use of the Internet for malicious purposes and to coerce adversaries. Students will learn how the Internet is changing markets, creating new challenges for governments, businesses, and labor. The course explore how states, corporations, and users compete to control technology platforms such as Facebook, Google, and Wikipedia, which play a pivotal role in shaping the global public sphere.

Emphases: Development
Term: Winter/Spring (January-April)
Day & Time: Tuesday Noon-2 pm
Instructor(s): Prof. Wilson Prichard

Room: Transit House, 315 Bloor St. West, Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Description: This course explores the challenge of designing and delivering context appropriate policy and administrative reform in lower-income countries.  It does so through an in-depth exploration of one sub-field, tax and development, while drawing broader lessons for thinking about development challenges.  Tax systems not only provide revenue needed for public investment, but are at the heart of the social contract and central to state building efforts.  Yet historically tax systems across lower-income countries have been relatively ineffective, inequitable and unaccountable. This course seeks to diagnose the causes of that underperformance, and explores potential strategies for improving outcomes.  It incorporates questions related to policy design, reform of public administration, political and institutional obstacles to reform and navigating the weaknesses and pathologies of aid systems. Drawing on the instructor’s active involvement in supporting tax reform programs in Africa and Asia, the course aims to provide a practical understanding of the dynamics and challenges of public sector reform.

Emphases: Global Markets
Term: Winter/Spring (January-April)
Day & Time: Tuesday 2-4pm 
Instructor(s): Prof. Mark Manger

Room: Transit House, 315 Bloor St. West, Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Description: This lab analyzes current global economic policy challenges. Students write weekly short research notes similar to those produced by research departments and firms in the financial sector, and present their findings in class. Topics are current trade and monetary policy, financial regulation, economic forecasts, and market developments as they feed back into policymaking. Following revisions, select research notes are published on the lab website. Students also write an end-of-term longer research note that offers more detailed analysis. The course is aimed at students who seek future employment as economic and policy analysts in the public and private sector.

*This course will have 12 spots for CERES students and 12 spots for MGA students

Emphases: Global Markets, Global Policy
Term: Winter/Spring (January-April)
Day & Time: Tuesday 5:30-7:30 pm 
Instructor(s): Prof. Robert Owen

Location: B019, 315 Bloor Street West

Description: 

The purpose of this course is to provide a reasonably sophisticated and advanced understanding of a broad range of analytical, empirical and policy questions relating to globalization and economic integration, while highlighting, in the latter regard, the experience of the European Union. 

The determinants, consequences and policy challenges of economic globalization constitute a crucial point of departure for an in-depth assessment of the potential stakes of international competition and cooperation. In this regard, an understanding of the interrelation between evolving patterns and determinants of trade in goods and services, foreign direct investment and international migration can be essential for appraising the scope for effective policy intervention in an increasing interconnected world economy.

The optimal role of governments and international organizations in responding to the policy challenges of integration processes will be examined in considerable depth. In particular, the political economy of adjustment processes will be argued to be defined not only by different dimensions of regional and national governance, but also by the extent to which cooperative and/or non-cooperative strategies are adopted.  The pros and cons of adopting international governance structures along the lines of fiscal federalism or, alternatively, confederation, will be scrutinized.

The political economy of international cooperation will also be argued to depend on a range of specific issues, potentially impacting industrial, technological, financial, labor-market and/or social performance. For example, international competition in high-tech sectors will be shown to depend, critically, on different dimensions of network structures, as well as the transforming effects and stakes of advances in international R&D competition, including those reflecting the increasing dominance of information and communication technologies. Similarly, a detailed understanding of the anatomy of international financial crises and contagion is crucial to understanding their consequences and formulating appropriate policy responses.

Throughout the course, considerable attention will be given to different aspects of the European experience. Both successes and shortfalls generated by the formation of the European Union and expansion of membership, the creation of the « Single Market », European Monetary Union, and the Schengen Treaty will be highlighted, as well as the welfare implications and policy challenges posed by Brexit. Other applications will focus on the prospects for heightened regional cooperation in North America, ASEAN and elsewhere.  The challenges for historically industrialized economies, posed by the increased prominence of China, India, other “BRICs”, and emerging markets, will also be considered.

Throughout the course, both strengths and potential limitations of tools and modeling approaches will be emphasized, while highlighting applications to current events and policy debates.

Prerequisites

Basic concepts and key analytical mechanisms, corresponding to material typically covered in standard master’s level microeconomic and macroeconomic courses.

Working knowledge of basic mathematics and statistics, including graphical analysis.  While not required, some applications using calculus may be considered.

Emphases: Global Development
Term: Winter/Spring (January-April)
Day & Time: Thursday 2-4pm 
Instructor(s): Prof. Moussa Blimpo

Room: Transit House, 315 Bloor St. West, Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Description: Despite significant progress over the last several decades, African countries face important challenges in several areas, including service delivery, financial deepening, and energy, to name a few. This course will view and treat those constraints as (or explore how to transform them into) business and investment opportunities. We will take a forward-looking perspective of the African continent and African countries. The course is not about the theories of why Africa is this or that; it addresses elementary questions, such as what African countries bring to the global economy. What opportunities are there for students, professionals, and businesses? What are the perspectives for the future? We will explore socio-economic policies and outcomes in African countries with particular attention to how they affect the rest of the world and vice versa. The topics include domestic issues such as energy and international topics spanning from trade and global value chains to tourism and cultural cooperation. We will assess strategies to attract business and investments, both domestic and foreign, and to create a conducive environment for innovation and technological diffusion needed for socio-economic progress. 

After taking this course, students are expected to have a good understanding of the current economic opportunities and challenges in African countries, to understand where Africa stands in the world economy and what it brings to the table, and to be able to have intelligent conversations on a wide range of socio-economic topics regarding the African continent and its place in the world. 

Emphases: Global Development, Global Security, Global Justice & Human Rights 
Term: Winter/Spring (January-April)
Day & Time: Wednesday 9am-11am
Instructor(s): Prof. Paola Salardi

Room: B019, 315 Bloor St. West, Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Description: The goal of this course is to introduce students to core debates and issues related to civil wars, political violence, and their relationship with socio-economic development.  The course is broadly divided into three parts.  The first part will cover debates related to the conceptualization of civil conflicts and wars and to their causes and triggers.  We will begin by understanding how conflict and violence are conceptualized and measured, and then we will look carefully at the causes and triggers of conflict – that is, what motivates individuals and groups to fight. In the second part of the course we will turn our attention to the consequences of conflict for people’s lives, focusing on education, health, and labour outcomes, and on social capital and political participation. The final sessions of the course will be focused on more active participation by students who will lead presentations based on influential research in the field. Throughout the course we will focus primarily on applied econometric studies, focusing on both the macro- and micro-levels.  This will introduce students to important strands of research, while also exposing them to new approaches to research: how quantitative research methods are applied to investigate conflicts, how to assess the quality and implications of econometric conflict research and how to run research in conflict-affected areas.

Emphases: Global Justice & Human Rights 
Term: Winter/Spring (January-April)
Day & Time: Thursday 11 am-1 pm 
Instructor(s): Prof. Ayelet Shachar

Room: B019, 315 Bloor St. West, Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Description: From legal battles over the US-Mexico border, to heated debates about the citizenship oath in Canada, to the “refugee crisis” in Europe and the rise of populist nationalism, questions about immigration have been high on the agenda. Moving beyond the traditional country-specific lens, this course explores key developments in migration law and policy from a comparative and interdisciplinary perspective. We will discuss the main types and categories of migration, the growing influence of bilateral and multilateral instruments in regulating mobility, changing conceptions of the border, emerging patterns of policy diffusion and interjurisdictional learning, and the turn to AI in immigration decision-making. We will also explore the dynamic relationships between countries of origin, transit, and destination, evaluate different modes of  citizenship acquisition, contrast competing logics and processes of naturalization, and examine political anxieties surrounding questions of membership and belonging.

Emphases: Global Justice & Human Rights, Global Development
Term: Winter/Spring (January-April)
Day & Time: Thursday 5:30-7:30pm
Instructor(s): TBD

Trailer: Fragile Foundations

Room: B019, 315 Bloor St. West, Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Description: This course focuses on three historical challenges for Latin America that have inspired a vast scholarly and popular literature: state building, violence, and democratic rule. And while the course has a regional focus, it has a universal scope, and should not be considered only as a course on "Latin American politics" (although you will learn a great deal about them). Therefore, no familiarity with the region is assumed nor reading knowledge of Spanish or Portuguese is required. The course curriculum is carefully curated to answer fundamental questions in political science, such as: What are the roots of state weakness? Is criminal violence radically different from political violence? Why are certain regions of the world more afflicted by violent conflict than others? Why democratic rule has been historically precarious in the developing world? And how can we identify when a country is undergoing democratic backsliding?

Emphases: The Digital World
Term: Winter/Spring (January-April)
Day & Time: Thursday 10 am - Noon
Instructor(s):TBD

Room: TBD

Description: This graduate seminar explores the potential of new digital datasets and advances in artificial intelligence for understanding critical global challenges. 

Traditional data lag reality, are scarce, or don’t capture complex modern economies and societies. By contrast, each day, scanners, smartphones, and online platforms capture text, location, payments, searches, and other real-time, detailed data. This data explosion, combined with increased computing power, is fueling major advances in AI. 

This course explores how leaders can use real-time datasets and new AI tools to spot and respond to problems as they emerge. For example, more readily available satellite images can enable leaders to monitor poverty, climate change, or war in near real-time. New AI tools trained on massive datasets can locate previously unknown critical minerals or better identify economic or disease risks at scale globally. General-purpose AI tools can speed up issues analysis or identify missing angles. 

The course is not highly technical; the goal is to expose students to these developments and the opportunities and risks they raise. Through guest speakers, discussions, and assignments, students will learn about and experiment with using non-traditional data and AI tools to better understand world events or challenges. These activities will also require students to confront the challenges and risks of using these tools for real world analysis. Since this topic is dynamic, there may also be opportunity to explore emerging AI developments and what they mean for global affairs intelligence and for global affairs more generally. 

Emphases: Global Markets
Term: Winter/Spring (January-April)
Day & Time: Thursday 10 am - 1 pm 
Instructor(s):TBD

Room: TBD

Description: Economic considerations are central to a wide range of public policy issues.  Governments worldwide are continually grappling with ways to advance the prosperity of their citizens through promoting economic growth while at the same time considering ways to influence the distribution of income. Economic impacts are also generally of interest in areas of policy options motivated by other important goals such as improving social equity and enhancing health and safety. Economics principles can also provide a helpful framework for understanding and evaluating a broader range of public policies and programs.

Topics covered in the course will include, labour markets, environment and climate change, housing, the challenges and opportunities in the economy related to COVID-19 and government budgets. To provide an economic framework for the analysis of public policy, the course will use examples of how microeconomic and macroeconomic concepts and analytical methods are applied to the selected topic areas. The course will evaluate the relative merits of government intervention versus non-intervention in these areas while also explore the potential different interventions available.  Expected consequences of interventions, risks and unintended consequences will also be discussed. Specific examples may be drawn from Canadian government policy developments and budgets during the term.

The course is designed to help students function in a professional policy environment. Towards this, students will develop and deliver several policy advice products in an interactive setting that simulates a professional work situation. The course will include both individual and team-based assignments.

 *There are 5 spots for MGA students. 

Emphases: Global Markets
Term: Winter/Spring (January-April)
Day & Time: Friday 9 am - Noon
Instructor(s):TBD

Room: TBD

Description: This course will introduce students to economic theory with discussions of empirical research papers to offer a fascinating perspective on women’s lives, from marriage and the family to the labour market. We will examine issue on marriage, fertility and divorce with the goal of understanding the large changes in family structure that have occurred over the past last decades in developed countries. We will also study women’s behaviour in the labour force, and gender gaps in the labour market outcomes. Many of empirical research papers exploit real-world policy interventions. As such, we will spend some time on program evaluation methods, from an applied perspective. The emphasis on this course is to get a good working knowledge of the applied economics methods and be able to apply them to real-world gender policy questions.
Learning Objectives of this course, are:
1. You will be able to analyze and think critically to solve complex problems related to gender and the gender gaps issues.
2. You will be able to judge the quality of quantitative research papers.
3. You will be able to persuasively communicate the central findings of empirical research papers to others.

*There are 5 spots for MGA students. 

Emphases: Global Justice and Human Rights 
Term: Winter/Spring (January-April)
Day & Time: Thursday 5-7 pm 
Instructor(s):TBD

Room: CG-160

Description: Economic crisis, war, multipolarity, and climate catastrophe have created a world on the move. In response, Canada has established an expansive temporary immigration system. On any given day, over 2.2 million people - approximately 1 in 17 residents - are on temporary work or study permits, are refugee claimants, or are undocumented individuals living and working in Canada, many of whom lack basic rights. Although temporary migrants have always played a crucial role in the Canadian state’s development, the massive increase in temporariness has only occurred in the past two decades. Despite this, public policy, research, and data have struggled to keep up with the regularly changing laws and policies surrounding this issue. The COVID-19 pandemic revealed how migrants in Canada were both essential and exploited, leading the federal government to review its laws and policies in 2020 and mobilized multiple stakeholders with strikingly different agendas. This course engages participants in this contemporary moment through the lens of migrant self-organizing.

Course participants will:

• Gain an understanding of Canada's reliance on migrant workers in industries such as agriculture, carework, and gig work, as well as the living and working conditions of migrants in those areas;
• Study and engage with specific policy developments currently taking place regarding migrant agricultural workers, undocumented residents, and international students;
• Uncover patterns, strategies, and struggles underlying contemporary immigration debates and policy development through the viewpoints of stakeholders often in opposition to one another; and
• Engage with questions of consent, consultation, and participation in policy development [for example, in whose interest is immigration policy created - the migrant or the citizen; and how?] which extend far beyond migration policy itself.

*There are 5 spots for MGA students. 

• This course is open to MGA students only. 
• Students must secure their own supervisor. The supervisor must be a UofT professor (not a course instructor or sessional lecturer). To find a professor who teaches in your research interest, visit the UofT Blue Book. The Blue Book can be searched by areas of research and it will display all the faculty at UofT that specialize in that area. 
• This course is offered in both the fall term and winter term. Students can only take the course once.
• The student will confirm with the supervisor a learning plan and deliverables. The final paper can't be worth more than 80% of the final grade. A typical reading course will have a final paper worth 60% and an annotated bibliography and research paper outline worth 40%. However, this can be negotiated with the supervisor.
• The time commitment should also be negotiated with the supervisor. The supervisor can request to meet with the student as little as once a month if that is agreeable to the student.
• Students must complete a Request for Reading and/or Research Course form Download Request for Reading and/or Research Course form. They are responsible for getting all necessary signatures and submitting the form to the MGA Program Office for enrollment in the course. Forms must be submitted before the last day to add courses.
• Supervisors should be instructed to send their final grades to the MGA Program Coordinator by the final grade deadline.

Emphases: Global Policy
Term: Winter/Spring (January-April)
Day & Time: Tuesday 1-3pm 
Instructor(s):TBD

Room: TBD

Description: This upper-level seminar will introduce students to the interdisciplinary study of popular culture in Asia through a focus on public events. Readings about all kinds of performances, including ritual, popular protest, festivals, sports, cinema, television, digital media events, and the performing arts will help students learn methodological tools to interpret the politics and meanings of public culture as it articulates with class, ethnicity, religious community, gender and caste. The course will furthermore familiarize students with a range of theoretical lenses for conceptualizing the different meanings of the “event” and the “public” from a perspective grounded in the histories of South Asia, Southeast Asia, East Asia, and their diasporas.

Emphases: Global Policy, The Digital World
Term: Winter/Spring (January-April)
Day & Time: Tuesday 10am-Noon
Instructor(s):TBD

Room: TBD

Description: TBD

Emphases: Global Policy
Term: Winter/Spring (January-April)
Day & Time: Monday 10 am - Noon
Instructor(s): Prof. Manjari Chatterjee Miller

Room: B019, 315 Bloor St. West, Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Description: After winning independence from Britain in 1947, India became a regional power to reckon with. With a huge linguistically, culturally, and ethnically diverse population, it functioned as a vibrant democracy and leading voice among anti-colonial nations for over five decades. But in the last twenty years, India has also become an internationally acknowledged rising power with clout among Western countries as well as the Global South. It is an accepted nuclear weapons state with rising military spending, seen as an economic powerhouse, and hailed as a demographic opportunity. These factors along with the rise of China and the deepening of the United States-India strategic partnership have changed India's behavior on the world stage. This course examines India and its rise as a complex dynamic country case of foreign policy behavior, and understands the major elements of its foreign policy and its role in the world through the lens of International Relations theories. Students will learn to design, research and write a full-length analytical paper that examines a foreign policy "puzzle" from any country.

Emphases: Global Policy
Term: Winter/Spring (January-April)
Day & Time: Wednesday 4 -6 pm
Instructor(s): Prof. Victor Falkenheim

Room: B019, 315 Bloor St. West, Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Description: Global Taiwan offers an interdisciplinary exploration of Taiwan’s remarkable emergence as a thriving democracy whose economic, societal and cultural innovations command international attention.   Situating Taiwan in its post-colonial and contemporary geopolitical setting, a distinguished roster of specialists will highlight Taiwan’s achievements in their local and regional specificity and their broader transnational significance. Particular attention will be given to Taiwan's role as a globally significant technology pacesetter and to the current challenge of growing cross-straits tensions.

Emphases: Human Rights and Global Justice 
Term: Winter/Spring (January-April)
Day & Time: Thursday 2:30-5:00 pm 
Instructor(s): Prof. Michael Battista

Room: TBD

Description: Who gets in? Who is removed? And what are our conceptions and misconceptions of both groups?
As national borders dissolve for trade, capital, communication and culture under globalization, these same borders acquire increasing salience in controlling the movement of people. Migration control thus emerges as the ‘last bastion of sovereignty’. This course focuses on Canadian policy, law and practice designed to manage and regulate entry, residence and citizenship. The policy answers to the question ‘who gets in?’ will be analyzed in terms of history (who got in to Canada in the past?), current trends (upon what characteristics does Canada currently assess those that wish to get in?), and critical perspectives (how do class/race/ ethnicity/gender affect who gets in?).
The course will examine the role of international and constitutional arrangements in determining the role played by different levels of government (United Nations, federal, provincial and municipal) in immigration, as well as the division of labour between the legislator, the executive and the courts in making and interpreting the rules.
Students will become familiar with the structure of Canadian immigration policy, and the mechanism by which immigration law organizes people into a series of categories and sub-categories: legal/illegal; temporary/permanent; economic/family class; voluntary/coerced etc. Class discussions will be encouraged to critical examine Canadian immigration policy and current events.
The Immigration Refugee Protection Act, Regulations and online Immigration Manual provide the framework for categorizing potential entrants into legal vs. non-legal, visitors vs. permanent residents, and immigrants vs. refugees. These legal instruments set the terms of admission and exclusion, and the processes by which the state makes and implements these determinations.

Emphases: Global Policy, Global Security
Term: Winter/Spring (January-April)
Day & Time: Monday 1-3 pm 
Instructor(s): Prof. Manjari Chatterjee Miller

Room: SK346, Faculty of Social Work

Description: What are rising powers?  Are they always revisionist states? Do clashes between a rising power and a great power lead to war? Are rising powers' foreign policy decisions influenced by their leaders or by domestic politics or an inevitable consequence of the power dynamics of the international system?
This course has three goals. First, you will learn to analyze what rising powers are, their role in international politics, and what shapes their foreign policy. Second, you will learn to critically evaluate and consider whether rising powers should be considered dangerous actors in world politics. You will look at 19th, 20th and 21st century history to understand the context of why rising powers were feared by other great powers, and debate how perceptions can shape reputations. Finally, having considered rising powers in both theoretical and historical context, you will be challenged to think about policy options for dealing with rising powers. You will problematize a policy issue and produce policy presentations from the perspective of a rising power (historical or contemporary), and from that of the status quo power (historical or contemporary).

Emphases: Innovation Policy 
Term: Winter/Spring (January-April)
Day & Time: Thursday 12-2 pm 
Instructor(s): TBD

Room: TBD

Description: Think startups and you’ll most likely think of San Francisco and its neighbouring Silicon Valley. For decades it has been the world’s focal point for startups, venture capital and global tech firms.

However smart people are everywhere, and thanks to the confluence of ubiquitous Internet access and a ravenous investor demand for returns, those smart people now have the opportunity to build and grow the types of startups once thought reserved for the Valley and its imitators.

This course explores this evolving geography of where globally competitive startups are emerging, be it in Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and beyond, digs into what’s behind their emergence, and questions what it means for us and them.