University of Geneva

This course explores the impact of digital technologies on international affairs. It provides some key factual and analytical elements that should contribute to a better understanding and appreciation of this new field of study. Digital technologies are increasingly recognized as a defining feature of contemporary world affairs. The web, social media, but also blockchain and AI affect public engagement and governance at European and international levels.

The course is an introduction to some of the major economic and development issues that international organizations deal with. It provides some key factual, methodological, and analytical elements that contribute to a better understanding and appreciation of the current work of international organizations and the underlying policy debates and motivations. Each lecture treats a specific topic that is part of the post-2015 Development Agenda adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN). Each lecture is organized in three parts, starting with a series of well-established stylized facts. These facts are then used to illustrate a crucial methodological and conceptual issue related to the topic treated. The last part of the lecture is dedicated to a deeper analysis that reflects ongoing policy debates.

This course introduces fundamental topics in economic development with a focus on the microeconomics of development. Topics include agriculture, climate change, conflict, education, gender, health, institutions, nutrition, sexual and reproductive health, and technology adoption. It addresses these topics from both theoretical and empirical perspectives, with an emphasis on using causal evidence to inform policy interventions.

This course provides an introduction to the study of politics in contemporary Africa. It focuses on the historical dynamics of state formation since the establishment of colonial rule and on the relations between state and society, as well as current debates on politics and the state in Africa. The course is structured both chronologically and thematically. It begins with the legacies of colonial rule and moves on to the formation of one-party states in the Cold War context, the crisis of modernization and the implementation of neo-liberal policies, the post-1990 democratization dynamics and their consequences, civil wars and the "failure" of the State in the 1990s, and the current rhetoric of "Africa Rising." The course is comprised of a weekly lecture as well as a course complement, which provides an opportunity to explore some themes more in depth.