Public Affairs 5610: Innovation, Policy and the Global Economy

3 Credit Hours
Modalities Available: Online Asynchronous

Sciences and technologies are transforming the global economic and security landscapes. Genetic technology, drones, quantum computing, graphene, synbio, and others are being developed by multinational corporations in ways that challenge national sovereignty. The objective of this course is to learn how innovations are changing industry and national security. The course will focus on international organizations and bureaucracies and their role in governing science and technology. International organizations such as the United Nations, NATO, the World Trade Organization, the World Bank are grappling with rapid change, but are playing catch-up. From the textbook: “The global governance arena presents a unique opportunity to contemplate how the nature and practice of administration is transformed in a context where the role of the state is changed and where the lack of a formal government means global public professionals are not directly accountable to elected officials and citizens….” Many U.S. government agencies are constrained by intergovernmental policy and action; in some cases, international policies act as obstacles to innovation, trade or development. Technologies are developed in foreign countries, and the question of “who is ahead?” and “who is behind?” becomes a political rallying call. This course will critique existing theories of governance and public administration through the lens of science and engineering at the global level and discuss future direction for technological change.