Information Package
baskent.edu.tr

Program of Political Science and International Relations (English)

POLI339

ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY

Course Code
POLI339
Semester
-
Theory+Practice
3 + 0
ECTS
5
Course TypeElective Course
Course LevelBachelor's Degree
Year of Study-
Semester-
ECTS5
Name of Lecturer(s)
Learning Outcomes

At the end of this course, the students;

  1. Learns environmental problems and global policies related to them.
  2. Develops an environmental perspective in International and Bilateral Political Relations.
  3. Develops an overview of approaches to solving environmental problems.
  4. To be able to follow current developments in environment and sustainable development issues and to have knowledge and opinions on the subject in international platforms.
Mode of DeliveryFace to face
PrerequisitesNo
Recommended Optional Programme ComponentsNo recommended optional programme components.
Course DescriptionPOLT339 is an undergraduate level course exploring the political dimensions of the global environmental crisis, with a special focus on climate change and its far-reaching impacts. Students will critically examine how climate change intersects with key issues such as environmental justice, state policies, and climate-induced migration. The course focuses on topics including the global food crisis, gendered perspectives on environmental degradation, and the role of agriculture in both contributing to and mitigating environmental harm. The course will also analyze state and international policy responses, exploring the roles of governments, global institutions, and social movements in shaping climate action. By engaging with case studies and theoretical frameworks, students will develop a comprehensive understanding of the political challenges and opportunities surrounding the environmental crisis. **OYS password:3392026**
Course Contents
WEEK TOPICS
1st Week A General introduction to the course and the syllabus
2nd Week What is happening? Climate Crisis?
3rd Week What is happening? Climate Crisis?
4th Week Why it has happened? Why to care?
5th Week Global Environmental Politics
6th Week State and Environment I
7th Week Midterm Exam
8th Week State and Environment II
9th Week Environmental Justice
10th Week Gendered understanding of Climate Crisis
11th Week Climate Migration
12th Week Food Crisis
13th Week Food Crisis
14th Week Concluding remarks
Recommended or Required ReadingPaul Wapner. 2014. Climate Suffering. Global Environmental Politics. 14 (2): 1-6.
Joyeeta Gupta. 2016. Climate Change Governance: history, future and triple-loop
learning? Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change,7: 192-210.
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC): www.unfccc.int
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD): www.cbd.int
Global Biodiversity Outlook https://www.cbd.int/gbo5
Amartya Sen 2004. Why We Should Preserve the Spotted Owl. London Review of
Books. 26, 3.
Garrett Hardin. The Tragedy of the Commons (pp.41-49) In, Green Planet Blues: Critical Perspectives on Global Environmental Politics, Conca and Dabelko eds. Routledge: 2020 (6th edition)
Basurto Xavier, and Ostrom, Elinor Beyond the Tragedy of Commons pp.64-78Daniel
Bodansky, Jutta Brunnee & Lavanya Rajamani, Introduction (pp.1-34) In, International Climate Change Law, OUP: 2017.
Jen Iris Allan. 2019. Dangerous Incrementalism of the Paris Agreement. Global
Environmental Politics, 19 (1): 4-11.
Paris Agreement: https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement
Ümit Şahin. 2017. Başlangıcından Bugüne Uluslararası İklim Değişikliği Rejimi. İçinde: S.C. mazlum, Y. Kaya, G. Orhan (der.) Uluslararası Çevre Rejimleri. Dora Yayınları
Ümit Şahin. 2020. İklim Politikalarında Yeni Dönem: Paris Anlaşması ve Hak Temelli Yaklaşım. Toplum ve Hekim. 35(1): 37-45
Andreas Duit. 2016. The Four Faces of the Environmental State: Environmental
Governance Regimes in 28 Countries. Environmental Politics, 25 (1): 69-91.
Turkey Climate Transparency Report 2022, available at:
https://www.climate-transparency.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/CT2022-Turkey-Web.pdf
Duygu Tan Gülcan. 2018. Ekolojik Kriz Karşısında Devletin Rolü Üzerine İdeolojik Bir Tartışma.Uluslararası İlişkiler 15(59),49-63
Yeldan, A. E. (2023). Turkey: Challenges and strategies toward de-carbonization and sustainable development under the age of finance. The Japanese Political Economy, 49(2-3), 183-211.
Pandey, H. P., Maraseni, T. N., & Apan, A. (2024). Assessing the theoretical scope of environmental justice in contemporary literature and developing a pragmatic monitoring framework. Sustainability, 16(24), 10799.
Schlosberg, D. (2013). Theorising environmental justice: the expanding sphere of a discourse. Environmental politics, 22(1), 37-55.
Rigon, A. (2025). A review of intersectionality and climate change and the potential of intersectional participatory methods and storytelling to co-produce climate justice. Climate and Development, 1-13.
Sachs, C., & Patel-Campillo, A. (2014). Feminist food justice: Crafting a new vision. Feminist Studies, 40(2), 396?410.
G.C. Ağören ve N.Ö.Güner. 2023. Ekofeminist Perspektiften İklim Hukuku Rejimi ve IPCC raporları. Toplum ve Bilim 165: 167-18
Bettini, G. (2014). Climate migration as an adaption strategy: de-securitizing climate-induced migration or making the unruly governable?. Critical Studies on Security, 2(2), 180-195.
Boas I, Gautam, A. and Olayiwola, A. Climate Change and Human Mobility in the Global South In The Palgrave Handbook of South-South Migration and Inequality, Crawley H, Teye JK eds. Palgrave, 2023
Amartya Sen (1981) Poverty and Famines: An Essay on Entitlement and Deprivation, Oxford University Press. (Chapter 1 Poverty and Entitlements and Chapter 2 Concepts of Poverty)
Patel, R. 2009. Grassroots Voices: what does food sovereignty look like? Journal of Peasant Studies, 36(3), 663?706.
Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods
  • Lecture
  • Discussion
  • Questions/Answers
Assessment Methods and Criteria
Quantity Percentage (%)
Mid-term 1 30
Presentation of Case Study 1 10
Other 1 20
Total(%) 60
Contribution of In-term Studies to Overall Grade(%) 60
Contribution of Final Examination to Overall Grade(%) 40
Total(%) 100
ECTS Allocated Based on Student Workload
Activities Quantity Duration (Hour) Total Workload (Hour)
Midterm exam 1 1.5 1.5
Preparation for Quiz
Individual or group work 14 2 28
Preparation for Final exam 1 30 30
Course hours 14 3 42
Preparation for Midterm exam 1 30 30
Laboratory (including preparation)
Final exam 1 1.5 1.5
Homework 1 20 20
Total Work Load153
Total Work Load / 30 (h)5.1
ECTS Credit of the Course5
Language of InstructionEnglish
Work Placement(s)No

Programme Qualifications / Learning Outcomes

LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4
K1 X
K2 X
K3 X X X
K4
K5
K6
K7
K8 X
K9 X
K10 X X
K11 X X
K12 X X X
K13