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International Affairs: Globalisation

Explore the pressing topic of globalisation and how it affects economics, politics and society with this online course.

14,518 enrolled on this course

Economic Globalisation has impacts on our society
  • Duration

    4 weeks
  • Weekly study

    3 hours

Explore globalisation and its impact on society past, present and future.

Understanding globalisation – a topic that dominates political and economic discourse worldwide – is important for anyone who cares about our planet’s future and wants to help shape it. This online course introduces economic globalisation, and its impact on society past and present.

We’ll explore globalisation’s historical impact on humanity and the world’s economic geography; the broad-brush economics that explain how and why globalisation affects our lives; and how changes in globalisation require new approaches to economic and social policy.

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Skip to 0 minutes and 10 seconds Welcome to this Future Learn course on globalisation. In this course, we’re going to tackle some of the really big questions about this world we live in, focusing on globalisation. But let’s start with some small questions. Who am I and what is this course? I’m a professor of international economics here at the Graduate Institute in Geneva. For 30 years, I’ve been reading, writing, and researching matters of economic integration. In addition to my academic work, I’ve long been involved in policy, an interests that really got started after I worked in the White House of President George Bush Sr. Since then, I’ve been regularly involved with policy matters in governments all around the world. So let me tell you about the course itself.

Skip to 0 minutes and 55 seconds Over the next few weeks, we are going to cover a shorter, less demanding version of a course that I teach here to interdisciplinary master students at the Graduate Institute. The course is based on a book I recently published with Harvard University Press.

Skip to 1 minute and 9 seconds It’s called The Great Convergence: Information Technology and the New Globalization. Many of the readings will be extracted from that book. The course is organised around four really big questions. The first is, what is globalisation and why is it so controversial? The second question is, has globalisation always been as it is today? The third is, why is globalisation’s impact so different across nations and across groups within nations? Finally, we get to future of globalisation. What will it be like and how should we prepare for it?

What topics will you cover?

  • Globalisation’s historical impact on humanity and the world’s economic geography;
  • The elementary economics that explain how and why globalisation affects economies, workers, and the global economic geography;
  • Discussion on how changes in globalisation require new approaches to economic and social policy.

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Identify how changes in globalisation require new approaches to economic and social policy.
  • Identify how and why globalisation affects economies, workers, and the international distribution of economic dominance.
  • Demonstrate a firm understanding of globalisation’s historical impact on humanity and the world’s economic geography.

Who is the course for?

The course is aimed primarily at people interested in world events and global trends. You could be a social science or business student, or a decision maker in the public or private sector. No prior experience or qualifications are required.

What do people say about this course?

Suddenly, I have a framework for understanding the world of humans

"This course has been just what I needed in order to provide coherency to my learning in other areas such as basic economics and history, politics and Twitter."

Great insights, well developed material and exceptional teaching.

"Great insights, well developed material and exceptional teaching. I learned as well from fellow students, their comments, their perspectives, which I really appreciated."

Who will you learn with?

Professor of International Economics at the Graduate Institute, Geneva;
President of the Centre for Economic Policy Research, London; and
Editor of the policy portal VoxEU.org

Who developed the course?

The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies

The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies is an institution of research and higher education dedicated to the study of world affairs.

Learning on FutureLearn

Your learning, your rules

  • Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
  • Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
  • Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores

Join a global classroom

  • Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
  • Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
  • Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others

Map your progress

  • As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
  • Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
  • Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate

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