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Course Description:
Climate change is increasingly shaping the foundations of world politics. This course examines how both the impacts of climate change and the global responses to it are transforming international relations, security, and the distribution of power. It emphasizes several broad and interconnected lines of inquiry and analysis. In particular, it will focus on the geopolitics and geoeconomics of climate mitigation and the geopolitics of adaptation to climate change. The course analyzes how the green transition - the shift toward renewable energy, low-carbon technologies, and new industrial and technological strategies - reshapes global power relations and the global economy. Students will explore how the transition drives new forms of geoeconomic competition, alters traditional dependencies on fossil fuels, and generates new vulnerabilities linked to supply chains of critical materials, financial flows, and technology standards. The course highlights how major powers and regional blocs integrate climate goals into their strategies for competitiveness, resilience, and influence. The course also examines how the uneven and often severe impacts of climate change—such as extreme weather, sea-level rise, water scarcity, food insecurity, and migration pressures—are influencing security agendas and governance systems. Students will consider how adaptation responses shape international cooperation and conflict, affect North–South relations, and drive demands for climate justice, financing, and resilience-building. Beyond these two pillars, the course explores related themes, including: • the changing geopolitics of energy, • the role of international institutions and climate governance, • the security dimensions of environmental change, • the EU’s evolving climate and energy diplomacy, • and the broader societal and justice implications of global climate politics. By bridging geopolitical and geoeconomic perspectives, students will learn to critically assess how climate change functions as both a risk multiplier and a catalyst of systemic transformation, influencing not only states and institutions but also markets, societies, and knowledge systems. Learning Outcomes: By the end of this course, students will be able to: • Analyze and discuss climate change policies across national, regional, and global levels. • Evaluate the geoeconomic and geopolitical implications of green transitions. • Understand the role of climate change in security studies, including human security and conflict. • Critically assess the knowledge-power nexus in international climate governance. • Communicate complex cases in oral and written forms, bridging policy and academic perspectives. Last update: Petříček Tomáš, Mgr., Ph.D. (17.09.2025)
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Recommended Reading and Literature ________________________________________ Module 1 – Climate Change as a Geopolitical Force Core Readings • Dalby, S. (2020). Anthropocene Geopolitics: Globalization, Security, Sustainability. University of Ottawa Press. • Falkner, R. (2021). The Politics of Climate Change: Global Challenges and Governance. Polity. • Keohane, R. O., & Victor, D. G. (2016). “Cooperation and Discord in Global Climate Policy.” Nature Climate Change. Supplementary • IPCC AR6 WGIII (2022). Summary for Policymakers. • Held, D., Roger, C., & Nag, E. M. (2013). Climate Governance in the Developing World. Polity. ________________________________________ Module 2 – Geopolitics of Climate Impacts and Adaptation Core Readings • Mach, K. J., & Kraan, C. M. (2021). “Climate as a Risk Multiplier for Conflict.” Nature. • UNEP (2023). Adaptation Gap Report. • Vivekananda, J., Schilling, J., & Smith, D. (2020). Shoring Up Stability: Addressing Climate and Fragility Risks in the Lake Chad Region. Adelphi. Supplementary • IPCC AR6 WGII (2022). Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability (Summary for Policymakers). • Barnett, J., & Adger, W. N. (2007). “Climate Change, Human Security and Violent Conflict.” Political Geography. • Betts, A. (2019). Survival Migration: Failed Governance and the Crisis of Displacement. Cornell University Press. ________________________________________ Module 3 – Geopolitics and Geoeconomics of Climate Mitigation Core Readings • Goldthau, A., & Westphal, K. (2022). “Geoeconomics of the Energy Transition.” Energy Policy. • Tagliapietra, S. (2023). “The Geopolitics of Europe’s Green Deal.” Bruegel Policy Contribution. • Muttitt, G., & Kartha, S. (2020). “Equity, Climate Justice and Fossil Fuel Extraction.” Climatic Change. Supplementary • Tooze, A. (2022). Chartbook essays on the political economy of climate finance. • IEA (2023). Critical Minerals Market Review. • Meckling, J., & Nahm, J. (2022). “The Politics of Technology Bifurcation: The US, China and Clean Energy.” Global Environmental Politics. ________________________________________ Module 4 – Energy, Security, and New Interdependencies Core Readings • Youngs, R., & Wouters, J. (2022). The EU and Global Climate Governance. Routledge. • European Commission (2022). REPowerEU Plan. • Van de Graaf, T., & Sovacool, B. (2020). “Global Energy Security under the Energy Transition.” Nature Energy. Supplementary • Smith Stegen, K. (2018). “Heavy Rare Earths, Permanent Magnets, and Renewable Energies: An International Political Economy Assessment.” Energy Research & Social Science. • Scholten, D., & Bosman, R. (2016). “The Geopolitics of Renewables: Exploring the Political Implications of Renewable Energy Systems.” Technological Forecasting and Social Change. • Bouzarovski, S., & Tirado Herrero, S. (2017). Energy Poverty: Disassembling Europe’s Infrastructural Divide. Palgrave. ________________________________________ Module 5 – Institutions, Justice, and the Future of Global Climate Governance Core Readings • Okereke, C. (2021). Climate Justice and the Global South. Zed Books. • Ciplet, D., & Roberts, J. T. (2017). Power in a Warming World: The New Global Politics of Climate Change and the Remaking of Environmental Inequality. MIT Press. • UNFCCC – most recent COP outcome documents. Supplementary • Bodansky, D., Brunnée, J., & Rajamani, L. (2017). International Climate Change Law. Oxford University Press. • Newell, P., & Bulkeley, H. (2017). “Landscape for Change? International Climate Politics and the Green State.” Global Environmental Politics. • Stephens, J. C. (2022). Diversifying Power: Why We Need Antiracist, Feminist Leadership on Climate and Energy. Island Press. Last update: Petříček Tomáš, Mgr., Ph.D. (17.09.2025)
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Prerequisite: None Course requirements and assessment: Seminar Presentation (25%) Each student will prepare a short presentation on a selected case study, policy debate, or theoretical approach related to one of the course modules. Presentations should critically engage with the readings, link them to broader geopolitical or geoeconomic themes, and stimulate class discussion. Final Essay (75%) A research-based essay (3,000–4,000 words) analyzing a selected topic from the course. Students are expected to use both academic literature and policy sources, demonstrate independent critical thinking, and apply concepts from the course to empirical cases. Grading Scale • A: 91–100% • B: 81–90% • C: 71–80% • D: 61–70% • E: 51–60% • F: <50% Last update: Petříček Tomáš, Mgr., Ph.D. (17.09.2025)
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