Registration ends on 12.10.2026 at 23:59.

This course provides an introduction to environmental and sustainability governance. It offers basic knowledge on the functioning of governance systems in providing and implementing public policies addressing current environmental and sustainability issues – on local, national and international levels, with a focus on global environmental and sustainability issues and governance. We will address both the structure and process features of governance. Topics covered may include the governance of commons; participatory and collaborative governance; private and hybrid governance; adaptive governance and learning; multi-level governance; international regimes (e.g. climate, biodiversity); telecoupling. Students will learn the general core governance theories and concepts and apply them to emblematic case studies in the realm of environment and sustainable development.

This course aims to provide students with thorough basic knowledge and competencies on (a) what constitutes environmental and sustainability governance; (b) the core concepts and authors in the field; (c) the effectiveness and legitimacy as well as the risks of different forms of governance; and (d) the usefulness of different governance approaches in different empirical settings. Students learn how to critically apply conceptual governance approaches to empirical cases of sustainability problems. Participants will have the opportunity to deepen their conceptual, analytical, presentation and team skills.

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