ID:
510394
Duration (hours):
40
CFU:
6
SSD:
SCIENZA POLITICA
Year:
2025
Overview
Date/time interval
Primo Semestre (29/09/2025 - 12/12/2025)
Syllabus
Course Objectives
he aim of the Course is to introduce students to the relevance of natural resources in international politics. First, the course presents the relationship between the study of geopolitics and the study of international politics. To this end, the course will show the distinction between geo-politics as a methodological approach (i.e. the study of the relationship between space and power) and geopolitics as a discipline, framed in a specific historical context. Secondly, the course will focus on the connection between natural resources and geo-politics through the presentation and discussion of some case studies relevant to contemporary international dynamics.
At the end of the Course, students will be able to:
- distinguish the fundamental concepts of geopolitics, its main approaches and the different meanings of geopolitics;
- present several case studies related to the importance of natural resources;
- analyze the relationship between space and power;
- problematize the scarcity or abundance of a given resource in a space and grasp the connections with which these influence the strategies of international actors and the stability of the international system;
- recognize the political implications deriving from the extraction, transportation, and distribution of a resource;
- find basic data relating to the availability and distribution of strategically relevant natural resources.
At the end of the Course, students will be able to:
- distinguish the fundamental concepts of geopolitics, its main approaches and the different meanings of geopolitics;
- present several case studies related to the importance of natural resources;
- analyze the relationship between space and power;
- problematize the scarcity or abundance of a given resource in a space and grasp the connections with which these influence the strategies of international actors and the stability of the international system;
- recognize the political implications deriving from the extraction, transportation, and distribution of a resource;
- find basic data relating to the availability and distribution of strategically relevant natural resources.
Course Prerequisites
No requirements
Teaching Methods
Lectures format and class seminar format. The lectures (1) introduce the conceptual tools of geo-politics; (2) argue the strategic relevance of the selected natural resources; (3) describe the relevant empirical phenomena of the geo-politics of natural resources. While class seminars are aimed at discussing the conceptual and empirical tools offered during lectures and apply them to some case studies thanks also to the active participation of the students in class.
Assessment Methods
1. Attender students’ grading bases on:
a. active participation in seminars and lectures (10%).
b. Tasks and activities in class assigned at the beginning of the course (40%)
c. a written exam at the end of the course on the reading listed above for attender students (50%).
2. Non-attender students’ gtading bases on a written exam at the end of the course on the readings that are listed above for non-attender students (100%).
The evaluation criteria for seminar activities are: presentation form; accuracy and completeness; conceptual rigor and originality.
The evaluation criteria for the written exam are: completeness of information, conceptual precision and lexical appropriateness, ability to connect empirical events and theoretical tools.
The evaluation criteria for active participation during lectures and seminars are: regular attendance at lessons (at least 75% of lessons) and participation in teaching activities with constructive comments.
a. active participation in seminars and lectures (10%).
b. Tasks and activities in class assigned at the beginning of the course (40%)
c. a written exam at the end of the course on the reading listed above for attender students (50%).
2. Non-attender students’ gtading bases on a written exam at the end of the course on the readings that are listed above for non-attender students (100%).
The evaluation criteria for seminar activities are: presentation form; accuracy and completeness; conceptual rigor and originality.
The evaluation criteria for the written exam are: completeness of information, conceptual precision and lexical appropriateness, ability to connect empirical events and theoretical tools.
The evaluation criteria for active participation during lectures and seminars are: regular attendance at lessons (at least 75% of lessons) and participation in teaching activities with constructive comments.
Texts
1. Attender students' program:
M. Clementi e M. Tognocchi (2024), La politica dell’abbondanza. Cibo, sicurezza alimentare e relazioni internazionali, Milano, Mondadori.
2. Non-attender students' program:
a. M. Clementi e M. Tognocchi (2024), La politica dell’abbondanza. Cibo, sicurezza alimentare e relazioni internazionali, Milano, Mondadori;
b. Only one among the following texts:
- F. Anghelone (a cura di) (2022), Potere blu. Geopolitica dell'acqua nel Mediterraneo, Bordeaux Edizioni.
- S. Kalantzakos (2021), Terre rare. La Cina e la geopolitica dei minerali strategici, Università Bocconi Editore, Milano.
- M. Spagnulo (2019), Geopolitica dell'esplorazione spaziale. La sfida di Icaro nel terzo millennio, Soveria Mannelli, Rubbettino
M. Clementi e M. Tognocchi (2024), La politica dell’abbondanza. Cibo, sicurezza alimentare e relazioni internazionali, Milano, Mondadori.
2. Non-attender students' program:
a. M. Clementi e M. Tognocchi (2024), La politica dell’abbondanza. Cibo, sicurezza alimentare e relazioni internazionali, Milano, Mondadori;
b. Only one among the following texts:
- F. Anghelone (a cura di) (2022), Potere blu. Geopolitica dell'acqua nel Mediterraneo, Bordeaux Edizioni.
- S. Kalantzakos (2021), Terre rare. La Cina e la geopolitica dei minerali strategici, Università Bocconi Editore, Milano.
- M. Spagnulo (2019), Geopolitica dell'esplorazione spaziale. La sfida di Icaro nel terzo millennio, Soveria Mannelli, Rubbettino
Contents
The Course is split into three parts. The first part is devoted to the relationship between geo-politics and international politics. The second part takes into consideration some strategically relevant natural resources and analyzes their political implications. The third part focuses on food as an international resource. In the first part, the Course illustrates the fundamental concepts useful for theorizing the relationship between space, power and politics and reconstructs the way in which these connections have emerged and changed in the theory of International Relations. The second part focuses on some natural resources particularly relevant to contemporary international politics, informing on their location and distribution, as well as on the practices of cooperation and conflict connected to their extraction and use. The natural resources that will be considered are: water, oil, outer space, metals and rare earths. The third part focuses on food as an international phenomenon, illustrating the way in which its availability and scarcity influence the mechanisms of formation and disintegration of the international order.
Course Language
Italian
More information
The complete syllabus including the readings for seminar classes will be available on Kiro at the beginning of the semester.
Degrees
Degrees
POLITICAL SCIENCE AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Bachelor’s Degree
3 years
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People
People (2)
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