MGA Courses

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

Room: TBD

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 10 am-Noon (LEC0101) & 2-5 pm (LEC0102) 
Instructor(s): Prof. Moussa Blimpo, Prof. Wilson Prichard

Room:

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: Wednesday 9 am - 11 am (LEC0101) & 1-3 pm (LEC0102)
Tutorials: Friday 10 am - 11 am (TUT0101) & 11 am - noon (TUT0102)
Instructor(s): Prof. Paola Salardi

Room: 

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 10 am- 1 pm (LEC0101) & 2-5 pm (LEC0102)
Instructor(s): Prof. Nina Srinivasan Rathbun, Prof. Brian Rathbun

Room: 

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:  Thursday  1-3 pm (LEC0101) & 3-5 pm (LEC0102)
Instructor(s): Prof. Caleb Pomeroy

Room: 

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: Fall (September/December)
Day & Time: Tuesday Time: TBD  (LEC0101) 
Instructor(s): TBD

Room: TBD

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: Tuesday 11 am-1 pm (LEC0101) & 2-5 pm (LEC0102) Tutorials: Wednesday 10-11am (TUT010) & 11am-Noon (TUT0102)
Instructor(s): Prof. Rafael Gomez 

Room: TBD

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 1 - 4 pm

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

Room: TBD

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: TBD

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 2-4 pm
Instructor(s): Prof. Brian Rathbun

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:

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), Prof. Vasu Daggupaty (Innovation)

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: Transit House, 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 CEES 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, 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.

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

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

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.

*This course is open to MGA year two students only who have completed Microeconomics and Macroeconomics. 

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

Room: B019, 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.

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

Emphases: Innovation Policy
Term: Fall (September-December)
Day & Time: Tuesday 4-6 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 Markets, Global Policy
Term: Fall (September-December)
Day & Time: Tuesday 2-4 pm
Instructor(s): Prof. Jonathan D. Ostry

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

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; populist and nationalist leaders are getting elected on the promise that they will do right by those left behind by globalization (allowing the "low-lying boats" to catch up). 

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 discuss how the failure to manage globalization in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, including the role of the IMF, led to the populist outcomes we are seeing today. The course 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.

*This course has 10 spots for MPP students. 

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

Room:  Transit House, 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: B019, 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.

*This course is a three-week intensive course. 

Emphases: Global Policy, Global Security, Global Development

Term: Fall (September-December)

Day & Time: Nov 3,6,7,10,13,14,17,20,21

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.

• 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 Innovation Policy

Term: Fall (September-December)

Day & Time: Monday & Wednesday Noon-2 pm 

Instructor(s): Prof. Shiri Breznitz 

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

Description: 

This seminar challenges you to open your mind and ask crucial questions regarding to innovation and economic development in the global economy. This course introduces the complex relationships between innovation, technology, and policy. During the course, students will acquire improved understanding and critical insight about: 

• Different perspectives on the meaning of economic development and the interpretation of economic development problems.  
• An understanding of globalization and its impact on innovation and economic growth. 
• Context of national and international trends, including issues of competitiveness, technological change, and globalization that influence economic development. 
• New strategies and themes for economic development, including those that focus on knowledge, technological innovation, and creativity.  
• Key aspects of the literature and debates about innovation and local economic development policy and practice, including perspectives of scholars and practitioners.

Emphases: Global Innovation Policy

Term: Fall (September-December)

Day & Time: Monday 4-6 pm 

Instructor(s): TBD

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

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.

Emphases: Global Innovation Policy

Term: Fall (September-December)

Day & Time: Wednesday 4-6 pm 

Instructor(s): Prof. Shiri Breznitz

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

Description: This seminar explores the relationship between innovation, entrepreneurship, and the economy. Promoting innovation through policy at the federal or regional levels impacts entrepreneurship. By creating a conducive environment for innovation, encouraging venture capital, and providing additional resources for entrepreneurs, policy makers can boost economic growth and development. This course is taught in collaboration with UofT’s Innovation, Partnership & Entrepreneurship Office. To better understand the value and impact of policy on local firms, and as part of the course requirements, students will be placed and assist UofT’s  UTEST entrepreneurship program startups. The start-up work will be between 2-4 hours a week on top of the weekly class meeting.

*This seminar is capped at 15 MGA Year Two students with preference for students specializing in the Innovation Policy emphasis.

Emphases: Global Justice & Human Rights, Global Development, Global Security
Term: Fall (September-December)
Day & Time: Thursday 5:30-7:30 pm
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: Global Innovation Policy
Term: Fall (September-December)
Day & Time: See Schedule below
Instructor(s): Prof. Dan Breznitz & Iain Stewart,

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

Description: In this experiential seminar led by Iain Stewart, former President of both the NRC and Canada’s Public Health Agency and Prof Dan Breznitz, the former Clifford Clarke economist in Finance, students will be given real world problems and would liaise with the executive responsible for those files in the federal government to devise policy solution. In the course of this seminar the students will learn both formal analytical skills and be coached in more tacit and practical skills of how to move ideas into real policy action.  

This year working in small teams in three sessions over eleven weeks, participants will identify a specific opportunity to encourage higher value-added activity in Canadian resource industries to develop a policy proposal for consideration of federal ministers designed to result in a measurable gain in economic value from a resource sector.

The course is organized in three extensive sections 9am to 12noon on the Tuesdays and Wednesdays of:

• September 16-17
• October 14-15
• November 11-12

With shorter check-in in between.

Failure to fully participate in those 6 in person meeting will result in failing the course.

*This course is open to MGA year two students only, specializing in Innovation Policy. 

Emphases: Global Climate Policy, Global Markets
Term: Fall (September-December)
Day & Time: Tuesday 5-7 pm 
Instructor(s): Prof. Mark Cameron

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

Description: Governments and industry have set an extremely ambitious goal of reducing net greenhouse gas emissions from today’s level of around 50 billion tonnes per year towards net-zero by 2050. This course will look at whether and if so, how, these goals can be achieved while remaining grounded in a real world technology, economic and geopolitical context.  We will begin by grounding the class in hard data from the IEA World Energy Outlook and other major climate and energy forecasts, then stress-test “business-as-usual” energy and emissions forecasts against various net-zero scenarios.

With a common fact base established, weekly modules dissect the technology, economics, supply-chain constraints and policy levers behind the most deployable decarbonisation tools, including advanced solar and wind renewables, small-modular nuclear reactors, geothermal, battery storage, grid optimization, hydrogen and power-to-X fuels, heat-pumps, carbon capture, methane abatement. Students will learn to read levelized cost tables and cost curves and to translate “green-premium” gaps into policy instruments such as contracts-for-difference, tax credits and loan guarantees.

Throughout, we confront emerging shocks such as the war in Ukraine or AI-driven data-centre loads, and evaluate how they reshape the economic and policy landscape. Case-study workshops will pair global models with national realities in China, India, the EU and North America, while guest practitioners will illustrate how new technologies and policy instruments are actually being deployed.

Emphases: Global Climate Policy, Global Markets, Global Policy
Term: Fall (September-December)
Day & Time: TBD
Instructor(s): Prof. George Vegh

Room: TBD

Description: 

Since 2015, Canadian energy policy demonstrated an almost single-minded focus on emissions reduction from the energy sector using policies such as an emissions cap of the fossil fuel sector, the imposition of non-emitting electricity supply mandates on provincial electricity systems, and transitioning from fossil fuels to electricity for industrial development, residential consumption, and transportation. 

In response to international and domestic political and economic challenges, the federal government is developing policies to increase fossil fuel production; diversify export markets; and increase self-sufficiency and domestic trade.

This course will review these policy changes by reference to the international, constitutional, and political frameworks of federal and provincial energy policies in Canada, including:

• Considering climate targets by reference to the international political and economic context of energy security and trade, with particular emphasis on the directions of the United States and China;
• Understanding the constitutional and political constraints of the federal government in implementing changes to energy policy, especially as they relate to provincial priorities; and
• Reviewing provincial electricity policies and their alignment with federal goals.

*There are 10 spots for MGA students specializing in Climate Policy in this course. 

Emphases: Global Policy
Term: Fall (September-December)
Day & Time: TBD
Instructor(s): Prof. Mel Capp

Room: TBD

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 10 spots for MGA students in this course.

Emphases: Global Policy
Term: Fall (September-December)
Day & Time: TBD
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.

Emphases: Global Security 
Term: Fall (September-December)
Day & Time: Monday 1-3 pm 
Instructor(s): Prof. Stewart Cunningham 

Room: TBD

Description: Canada’s military stance and defence policies were geared to Cold War challenges for most of the period between the end of the Second World War and the fading of East-West tensions and the dismantling of the Soviet bloc after 1989. The end of the Cold War brought a period of uncertainty to Canadian defence policy and military strategy, to which successive governments tried to adapt. 

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 response of Brian Mulroney’s government 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. 

We will look at changes in strategy, tactics, the operational art, and the impact of changes in military technology and doctrine.  Questions of procurement and spending will also be considered, along with changes to the organization of the Canadian Forces and interactions with allies and coalition partners in NATO, NORAD, and UN peacekeeping operations. We will discuss the changing nature of the Canadian military, including civil-military relations, the military’s place in the wider society, conditions of service, and the impact of American models on Canadian doctrine and military culture. Later sessions will look at the 2005 and 2018 Defence Policy reviews and the broader approaches to defence policy of the Paul Martin, Stephen Harper, and Justin Trudeau governments.  

*This course has 7 spaces for MGA students. 

Emphases: Global Security 
Term: Fall (September-December)
Day & Time: Wednesday 1-3 pm 
Instructor(s): Prof. Stewart Cunningham 

Room: TBD

Description: Since their invention, nuclear weapons have shaped the conduct of war and diplomacy and the workings of the international system. The question of who has them, and who doesn’t, has become central to global stability, and has never been more relevant than it is now. This course begins with the breakthroughs in nuclear physics of the early 20th Century, and the emergence of the power of the atom as a symbol of the future. We will proceed to cover the development and use of the first atomic weapons during the Second World War, and the failure of early efforts to place nuclear weapons under international control.

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

Room: Transit House, 315 Bloor St. West, Toronto, ON

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 overarching goal, a fierce geopolitical and industrial competition is also unfolding, with every major economy trying to gain advantage in researching, designing and manufacturing technologies for the low-carbon economy, or preserving its power in the fossil fuel-dominated system. Because energy and national power are intimately linked, we analyze whether the transition to a net-zero economy will become the latest site of geopolitical competition between the US and China, who 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 industrial policy, including America’s Inflation Reduction Act, China’s recent five-year plans and Europe’s REPowerEU plan. We also discuss so-called ‘critical minerals’ and the incipient mining boom given that 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: Tuesday 12-2 pm 
Instructor(s): Timothy Snyder 

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

Description: This course explores how the lands of Ukraine have been central to the direction of global history since before the beginning of civilization. We observe there early human settlements and the spread of Indo-European languages. The structure of western myth—from the Greek to the Norse—has depended heavily on encounters with and the lands and peoples of today’s Ukraine. In the modern period, Ukraine was at the centre of the slave trade and of modern colonialism as well as the central territory of Nazi and soviet totalitarianism. Today, Ukraine is an experiment in post-imperial democracy and a laboratory for new conversations about human freedom.

*There are 5 spots for MGA students in this course. Enrollment requests must go through the MGA Office. 

Emphases: Global Policy 
Term: Fall (September-December)
Day & Time: Tuesday 2-4 pm 
Instructor(s): Prof. Marci Shore

Room: Scheyball Room, 14th Floor, John P. Robarts Library Building

Description: God was sidelined during the Enlightenment, relegated to a minor role as reason took center stage. Some time later—in the 1880s—God was killed off entirely. Modernity is about replacing God. It’s about searching for another source of certainty to ground truth. Modern philosophy, in turn, begins with the question: does the world exist? How can we be certain that what we perceive is what is real? How can we be certain of anything at all? In the absence of certainty, we’re condemned to homelessness and alienation. If modernity is the attempt to replace God, postmodernity begins when we gave up on replacing God, when we accept that there is neither a God nor a viable surrogate. If modernity is a searching for certainty and groundedness, post-modernity, in turn, is an embracing of uncertainty and groundlessness. This European intellectual history seminar explores the epistemological question in modern thought: is there such a thing as truth? And is it possible--in Václav Havel's phrase--to live in truth? We begin with Plato’s cave and move through Descartes’ malicious genius; Kant and Husserl; the role of ideology and lies in 20th century totalitarianism; the post-structuralism that develops in France as a protection against the absolutist truth claims bound up with totalitarian terror; dissident thought in Eastern Europe in the 1970s and 1980s; the twenty-first century emergence of post-truth, and the possibilities of an antidote.

*This course has 5 spaces for MGA students. 

Term: Winter/Spring (January-April)
Day & Time: TBD
Instructor(s): TBD

Room: TBD

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: 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.

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

Instructor: Prof. Matt Wilder

Room: b019, 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: 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, Global Development

Term: Winter/Spring (January-April)

Day & Time: Jan 20, 22, 23, 27, 29,30, Feb 3, 5, 6 (9:00-Noon)

Instructor(s): Prof. Arif Lalani

Room: TBD

Description: TBD

Emphases: The Digital World, Global Security
Term: Winter/Spring (January-April)
Day & Time: Friday 2-4 pm 
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, Global Markets
Term: Winter/Spring (January-April)
Day & Time: Tuesday Noon-2 pm
Instructor(s): Prof. Wilson Prichard

Room: B019, 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: B019, 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 is open to MGA year two students only who have completed Microeconomics and Macroeconomics. 

Emphases: Global Development, Global Policy, Global Markets
Term: Winter/Spring (January-April)
Day & Time: Tuesday 10 am - Noon
Instructor(s): Prof. Moussa Blimpo

Room: B019, 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. 

• 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 Security, Global Development, Global Markets and Global Justice
Term: Winter/Spring (January-April)
Day & Time: Monday 10am-Noon
Instructor(s): Prof. Manjari Chatterjee Miller

Room: B019, 315 Bloor St. W, Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy

Description: India is a rising power, the world's fifth largest economy, a nuclear power, and a demographic powerhouse. But it has also has comparatively low literacy levels, high levels of poverty, dropping fertility rates, and an education and health system in crisis. It has fractious relationships in its neighborhood, and a tense relationship with China, but a strong friendship with Russia, as well as a growing partnership with the United States. In short, India is a country of contradictions, and engages in foreign policy behavior that is not only puzzling to other countries - it has stayed studiedly neutral in the Ukraine crisis for example - but is also a challenge for analysis. The goal of this course is to teach how we can identify and understand the puzzling foreign policy behaviors of any country by using India as an example. Designed as a collaborative workshop, this course will teach you to research, analyze and write a paper on the foreign policy behavior of a country of your choice.

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

Room Transit House, 315 Bloor St. W, Munk School of Global Affairs and 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 Security, Global Policy, The Digital World
Term: Winter/Spring (January-April)
Day & Time: Monday 9:30 am - 11:30 am 
Instructor(s): Prof. Bruce Schneier

Room Transit House, 315 Bloor St. W, Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy

Description: This course aims to give students the tools necessary to understand legal and policy issues in cyberspace. While it is impossible to become a cybersecurity expert in a single semester, students will leave the course as intelligent laypeople, adept at discussing computer and Internet security policy issues and able to spot political agendas disguised as technical arguments. Students will understand how technology and policy interrelate, when it’s time to turn to technical experts, and how to use technical expertise to form effective policy.

This course is designed for policymakers rather than for implementers of preexisting policy. As such, we will not discuss how to implement Internet security policies within government organizations. Rather, we will discuss how to effectively determine which policies are the correct ones to mandate: for government, for private industry, and for individuals. This course is less about learning a body of answers, and more about learning a way of thinking about the topics in general. After completing this class, you will be more sophisticated when you approach new Internet security policy issues. Specifically, you will be able to weigh pros and cons, examine consequences of policies, and craft and recommend policies of your own.

*This course has 6 spaces for students from the Faculty of Law.

Emphases: Global Justice and Human Rights
Term: Winter/Spring (January-April)
Day & Time: Tuesday 4-6 pm 
Instructor(s): Prof. Sheryl Lightfoot 

Room: B019, 315 Bloor St. W, Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy

Description: This course examines the persistent gap between the formal recognition of Indigenous rights in international and domestic legal frameworks and their implementation in practice. It explores the legal, political, and institutional barriers that shape policy outcomes, including government commitments, judicial interpretations, corporate interests, and grassroots advocacy. Case studies from different jurisdictions will highlight challenges such as Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC), land rights disputes, and self-determination efforts, offering a critical analysis of how political dynamics and legal structures interact to enable or obstruct Indigenous rights realization.

Emphases: Global Security, The Digital World
Term: Winter/Spring (January-April)
Day & Time: Thursday 10 am-Noon
Instructor(s): Prof. Aaron Gluck-Thaler

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

Description: This course critically examines the widespread use of digital surveillance technologies. From automated facial recognition to targeted online advertising, data-intensive surveillance has emerged as an integral component of governance, statecraft, and commerce. The course situates this development historically. It provides a set of analytical tools for distinguishing new forms of surveillance from older ones, as well as for analyzing the social consequences of digital surveillance. Topics include artificial intelligence, algorithmic discrimination, surveillance capitalism, computer ethics, and privacy.

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

Room: B019, 315 Bloor St. W, Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy

Description: In this course, students will be exposed to and engage with some of the key/most current International Development challenges and opportunities faced by the UN, NGOs, CSOs, Government donor agencies and other stakeholders. They will also be engaging with the discourse of Human Rights-Based International Development and its normative principles including those inspired by the UDHR, CRC and CEDAW. The decolonization of AID will also be unpacked and what it means for practitioners and leaders in this Sector. In addition, some of the overarching and key policies and frameworks guiding International Development work will be discussed, critiqued and explored, such as the SDGs. The importance & complexity of “ethical” engagement by practitioners and leaders in this Sector will be highlighted, amongst the overarching focus on the actual praxis of International Development work, thru the voices and experiences of International Development professionals and leaders.

Emphases: The Digital World
Term: Winter/Spring (January-April)
Day & Time: Monday 2-4 pm
Instructor(s): Prof. Jaxson Khan

Room: TBD

Description: This interdisciplinary graduate seminar provides a practical and critical introduction to artificial intelligence (AI) systems and their governance. Designed for future policy leaders, technologists, and analysts, the course blends technical foundations with real-world policy applications to equip students with the knowledge and tools needed to engage with AI at both strategic and operational levels.

Students will learn how modern machine learning models work, explore the global AI supply chain (including chips, data, and compute infrastructure), and use contemporary AI tools to support their own policy research and analysis. The course covers major policy and governance issues including AI safety and frontier model red-teaming, AI security, responsible AI, copyright and intellectual property, international regulatory approaches, platform governance, and a variety of different approaches and policy frameworks.

Each week combines conceptual learning, real-world case studies, and applied exercises. The course will feature industry leaders as regular guest speakers. Students will gain experience using generative AI, working with datasets, and evaluating AI systems. Final projects will allow students to develop applied policy interventions or technical prototypes that address contemporary challenges in AI governance.

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

- Understand how machine learning systems are developed, deployed, and governed;
- Analyze the implications of AI applications across sectors and geographies;
- Apply AI tools in service of research, policymaking, or program design;
- Design policy responses grounded in technical realities and societal values.

This is a hands-on course. No coding experience is required, but students should be ready to experiment with AI tools, engage critically with technical concepts, and collaborate on applied assignments

Emphases: The Digital World
Term: Winter/Spring (January-April)
Day & Time: TBD
Instructor(s): Prof. Jonathan Craft

Room: TBD

Description: Digital government is now a worldwide phenomenon and raises important questions about how government works, and how policy gets made, in an increasingly digital world. This course looks at digital government experiences and movements within the context of Ontario, Canada, North America, and globally. It will canvass foundational concepts linked to digital government practice with a focus on critically assessing how governments are attempting to organize and operate in digital ways. It features an applied policymaking emphasis with students exploring how policy is  designed and delivered using digital ways of working. Students will engage with case studies, academic articles, and applied exercises to develop new skills and familiarity with digital government practices including user centered design and agile methods.
Learning Objectives:
Develop familiarity with digital government principles, approaches, and ways of working.

*There are 5 spaces for MGA students specializing in The Digital World in this course.

Emphases: Global Markets
Term: Winter/Spring (January-April)
Day & Time: TBD
Instructor(s): Prof. Brian Lewis

Room: TBD

Description:

*There are 5 spots for MGA students in this course.

Emphases: Global Security 
Term: Fall (January-April)
Day & Time: Monday 1-3 pm 
Instructor(s): Prof. Stewart Cunningham 

Room: TBD

Description: Canada’s military stance and defence policies were geared to Cold War challenges for most of the period between the end of the Second World War and the fading of East-West tensions and the dismantling of the Soviet bloc after 1989. The end of the Cold War brought a period of uncertainty to Canadian defence policy and military strategy, to which successive governments tried to adapt. 

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 response of Brian Mulroney’s government 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. 

We will look at changes in strategy, tactics, the operational art, and the impact of changes in military technology and doctrine.  Questions of procurement and spending will also be considered, along with changes to the organization of the Canadian Forces and interactions with allies and coalition partners in NATO, NORAD, and UN peacekeeping operations. We will discuss the changing nature of the Canadian military, including civil-military relations, the military’s place in the wider society, conditions of service, and the impact of American models on Canadian doctrine and military culture. Later sessions will look at the 2005 and 2018 Defence Policy reviews and the broader approaches to defence policy of the Paul Martin, Stephen Harper, and Justin Trudeau governments.  

*This course has 7 spaces for MGA students. 

Emphases: Global Security, Global Policy, Global Justice and Human Rights
Term: Fall (January-April)
Day & Time: Tuesday 2-4 pm 
Instructor(s): Karolina Koziura

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

Description: Since the late 1970s, there has been a rise in public understanding that most post-repressive, post-conflict, and post-authoritarian successor states need to confront the crimes of their predecessors on the path toward democracy and societal reconciliation. International criminal tribunals, truth commissions, restitution, and public apologies became the most characteristic features of what Nanci Adler (2018) has described as the age of transitional justice. In recent years, however, a growing number of scholars and activists have criticized the established global norms of transitional justice for ignoring local knowledge and community-led justice strategies. How can both forms of transitional justice interact? How do victims of violence understand and experience these processes? How can the mechanism of transitional justice further evolve?

This course offers a comprehensive and timely examination of the complexity of the societal reckoning with violence by analyzing the relationship between memory, justice, and social change in contemporary Ukraine. By examining competing narratives of violence surrounding the Holodomor, the Holocaust, and the role of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) in World War II, the course introduces students to major political debates surrounding history and memory in Ukraine and further places them in comparison to other historical, geographical, and cultural cases of societies attempting to heal the wounds left by authoritarian and repressive regimes in Latin America, South Africa, and across Central Europe.

*This course has 5 spaces for MGA students.