210057 LK BAK8: International Politics (2021S)

The reading course examines links between legal and illegal practices embedded within the broader context of the imperial mode of living and supplements the lecture "International Politics", which discusses the historical, conceptual and theoretical basics of international politics in general. In particular, we will focus on the global trade of illicit drugs and the socio-ecological crisis. Critical perspectives will be applied to these contemporary debates in order to broaden our understanding of the unequal global north-south relations. The production, distribution, and consumption of illicit drugs are interrelated and affect politics in a myriad of ways by shaping social behavior, local and national institutions, cultural practices, markets, and international relations. In a similar way, an analysis of socio-environmental struggles reveals the assumption of unlimited access to resources, which is secured through hegemonic patterns of the world economy and a contested role of the state. Among the topics and categories to be discussed are postcolonial approaches, intersectionality, illicit drug trade, drug policy, and global political ecology; these will be used to explore the complexity of the dynamics between the geopolitical north and south.