2023/2024 BA-BEBUO1019U Europe and Global Megatrends
English Title | |
Europe and Global Megatrends |
Course information |
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Language | English |
Course ECTS | 7.5 ECTS |
Type | Mandatory (also offered as elective) |
Level | Bachelor |
Duration | One Semester |
Start time of the course | Spring |
Timetable | Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk |
Study board |
Study Board for BSc in European Business
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Course coordinator | |
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Teaching methods | |
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Last updated on 29-11-2023 |
Relevant links |
Learning objectives | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Course prerequisites | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This is an advanced course and students are
expected to have acquired good knowledge about the European Union.
The course also draws upon a range of theories and approaches
introduced in previous courses of the European Business program,
including Varieties of Capitalism, Growth Models, theories of
European integration, and welfare regimes.
Students who lack this knowledge are required to familiarize themselves with the above theories and concepts prior to the start of the course. For a basic understanding of the functioning of the European Union, we suggest reading the book: Simon Bulmer, Owen Parker, Ian Bache, Stephen George and Charlotte Burns (2020): Politics in the European Union. 5th edition. Oxford University Press. |
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Examination | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Course content, structure and pedagogical approach | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This course deals with “megatrends” or ‘driving forces that are observable now and will most likely have significant influence on the future' in terms of the challenges and opportunities they pose for states, businesses and societies in the European context.
The course material focuses on four megatrends 1) New Forms of Social Change, 2) The Climate Crisis 3) New Forms of Technological Disruption, 4) Shifts in Global (Economic) Power. Each ‘global force for change’ brings about challenges and opportunities for societies, business and states in different sectors and industries.
Those challenges and opportunities that derive from each megatrend are discussed separately in each lecture around selected topics throughout the whole course.
The lectures and exercise classes explore the observable implications of the megatrends for the rapid shifts observed in the European economy and society. As such, they discuss each megatrend in terms of how it shapes and is shaped by firms, states and cities. To make sense of these analytical linkages, the course introduces a set of focused concepts, theoretical frameworks and cases dealing with critical issues such as labour markets, natural resources, financial markets, commodity markets, social policy, wealth accumulation, green investment, digitalization and cyber security, and global trade disputes. The lectures discuss and touch upon each megatrend at both the global and the European level for private and public sectors, as well as for societies.
The theoretical and conceptual backbone of this course is introduced in two first two lectures, dealing with competing conceptualizations of the state in the economy. These approaches – spanning theories of the regulatory state, the entrepreneurial state, the market-oriented state, and the self-regulation promoting state – provide different theoretically informed understandings about the relationship between state and market actors in dealing with emerging risks and long-term trends. Further, the readings and the lectures will enable students to synthesize the knowledge and skills acquired in the program as a whole, including in courses such as ‘Denmark in Comparative Perspective’, ‘Internationalization beyond Europe and Qualitative Methods’, or ‘Political Economy of European States.’
The course is an integrative platform for the European Business program, mobilizing the knowledge and skills develop through the program in order to understand and analyze the complexity and the challenges that the megatrends pose to European businesses, societies and states.
Nordic Nine: You will learn how to formulate and answer policy questions related to global megatrends shaping the European political economy in ways that pose trade-offs between competitiveness, security and a compassionate society. You will develop arguments, critically reflect on conventional wisdom and assess the plausibility of your suggestions about how to deal with the megatrends (NN2, NN3, NN6, NN8). You will learn how to approach key societal challenges and ethical dilemmas with conceptual depth and analytical rigor and clarity by identifying and articulating the tradeoffs entailed by alternative policy approaches to the megatrends (NN3, NN4, NN5).
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Description of the teaching methods | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The course consists of a combination of lectures
and exercise classes, both organized around a concrete megatrend.
Students obtain knowledge through participating in groups
discussions, lectures, and exercise classes. Each lecture starts
with main questions, key terms and theoretical framework relevant
to the megatrend and then continues with exploring the implications
of the megatrend for specific issues faced by European businesses,
states and societies. The exercises will deepen these aspects and,
most importantly, will link the take-home lessons from the lectures
and readings to the knowledge acquired by the students in previous
EB courses.
All content will be available on Canvas, which will be structured according to the activities of each week where lectures and exercise classes are carried out. |
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Feedback during the teaching period | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Student feedback will occur regularly throughout
the course in the following venues and ways:
1. Students are encouraged to take advantage of office hours for a one-to-one dialogue with lecturers. Office hours can be made use of individually, as well as, by groups and can be booked by contacting the respective teacher. 2. During exercise classes, student will receive feedback from both lecturers and fellow students on specified discussion questions. |
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Student workload | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Expected literature | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mazzucato (2015): The green entrepreneurial state. Online: https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.12657/52753/1/9781317601128.pdf#page=153
Saxenian, A., & Sabel, C. (2008). Roepke lecture in economic geography venture capital in the “periphery”: the new argonauts, global search, and local institution building. Economic geography, 84(4), 379-394. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1944-8287.2008.00001.x
Majone, G. (1997). From the positive to the regulatory state: Causes and consequences of changes in the mode of governance. Journal of public policy, 17(2), 139-167.
Renckens (2020). Private governance and public authority. Introductory chapter. Online: https://libsearch.cbs.dk/permalink/45KBDK_CBS/1i6rvdp/alma999900992605765
Helleiner (2021). The Neomercantilists: A global intellectual history. Introduction chapter. Online: https://libsearch.cbs.dk/permalink/45KBDK_CBS/1i6rvdp/alma9910166312105765 |