Development and International Cooperation Studies

1) The aim of the course is providing the students with a good knowledge of social democracy as an international actor and factor in the XX century, especially concerning how it tried to render its model of society (a socialist but gradual and democratic reform of capitalism) consistent with international Cooperation. The chronological focus will be the second half of the XX century and the present postcold war transformations. Especially Willy Brandt (Germany) Olof Palme (Sweden) and Bruno Kreisky (Austria) will be highlighted as the main leaders of social democratic internationalism. Thereby the students will become acquainted with the following strategies of cooperation between the developed north and the global south A) Neutrality as a platform of internationalism and namely Swedish active neutrality as opposed to isolationist neutrality B) The transformation of the Socialist International from European or “western” forum for historical socialist parties to platform for global internationalist action under Brandt’s presidency C) Global economic and social reform as a precondition of international stability as opposed to mere Cold War balance of military and nuclear power D) National Social models and Welfare state reform as a means of Social democratic nation branding E) Post colonial multilateralism and north south Cooperation in the Un through New International Economic Order and Like Minded countries 2) Besides, students will become acquainted with the normative concepts of equality, human rights, opportunity, minimum standards and the transformation of the way they were conceived in the New Deal era (comprising the decades of social democracy in Europe, with equality as desired outcome) and in the more recent decades (with global free trade as the key problem solver, and internationalism mainly aimed at providing minimum enabling conditions for individuals in order for them to fruitfully interact with markets). 3) The methodological approach will be that of economic history (dealing with the fundamental structural factors leading from laissez faire to social democratic reform internationalism) and conceptual history (how different key concepts and basic values have been transformed and adapted in the different historical phases taken into account above). 4) Within this framework, a direct knowledge of specific projects, problems and innovations in the field of international Cooperation will also be provided, especially through contacts with international institutions, experts and scholars. Thus, students will be incentivized to contextualise and interpret international cooperation projects in different historical phases, conceptual patterns and geostrategic global scenarios. Thereby, the students will be enabled to detect and analyse the theoretical premises of any given cooperation project, and at the same time to evaluate their expected aims and impact on factual social conditions.