Unit 6: Global risks and resilience

1. Geopolitical and economic risks

How technological and globalizing processes create new geopolitical and economic risks for individuals and societies
Threats to individuals and businesses: hacking, identity theft and the implications of surveillance for personal freedoms; political, economic and physical risks to global supply chain flows
New and emerging threats to the political and economic sovereignty of states: profit repatriation and tax avoidance by TNCs and wealthy individuals; disruptive technological innovations, such as drones and 3D printing
The correlation between increased globalization and renewed nationalism/tribalization
Two detailed examples to illustrate geopolitical tension/conflict
How the advantages of globalization must be weighed against heightened possibilities of new geopolitical and economic risks

How global interactions create environmental risks for particular places and people
Transboundary pollution (TBP) affecting a large area/more than one country
One TBP case study including the consequences and possible responses
Environmental impacts of global flows at varying scales: localized pollution, including impacts along shipping lanes; carbon footprints for global flows of food, goods and people
Environmental issues linked with the global shift of industry: polluting manufacturing industries; food production systems for global agribusiness
How global interactions affect the physical environment by varying degrees at different scales

New and emerging possibilities for managing global risks
The success of international civil society organizations in attempting to raise awareness about, and find solutions for, environmental and social risks associated with global interactions
Detailed examples of one environmental and one social civil society organization action
Strategies to build resilience: re-shoring of economic activity by TNCs; use of crowd-sourcing technologies to build resilience by government and civil society; new technologies for the management of global flows of data and people, including cybersecurity and e-passports
How perspectives vary on the severity of different risks and priorities for action

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