Institute for International
Cooperation and Development Studies

Official Master's Degree in Globalisation and Development
Official title

Official Master's Degree in Globalisation and Development

Aimed at: People interested in professional training and academic education in the field of globalisation and the paradigms of human development and sustainability.

The Official Master's Degree in Globalisation and Development is aimed at professional and research training. Its focus is to study the relations between the globalisation phenomenon and development processes.

The Official Master's Degree in Globalisation and Development is part of the range of official qualifications of the University of the Basque Country/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (UPV/EHU), and is coordinated by the Hegoa Institute and the Department of Applied Economics at the UPV/EHU.

The Master's Degree is aimed at academic specialisation and the training of researchers in relation to the globalisation phenomenon and development processes. The programme is interdisciplinary and is part of the Development Studies tradition.

The teaching on this master's course is focused on the theoretical-methodological areas of two fundamental aspects: globalisation, taken to be the process to globalise interrelations and processes in the economic, social, political and cultural fields; and on the main theoretical approaches to development, addressed from the paradigms of human development and sustainability, and taking into account the role of international cooperation as society's instrument to foster peaceful coexistence and development globally. 

Student may opt for the specific analysis of some of the most important aspects in development processes, such as gender, poverty and inequality, the environment, local development, governance, conflicts and human security.
This master's degree provides direct access to the Development Studies PhD Programme.


Entrance requirements

  • Any undergraduate degree or equivalent qualification (short-cycle degree, long-cycle degree, engineering, architecture).
  • Academic records, supporting letter, knowledge of languages and, where applicable, professional experience will be assessed when selecting the students. Other admission requirements, along with holding the necessary qualifications, are providing a curriculum vitae and accrediting the merits cited. 
  • Foreign students must be able to express themselves correctly in written and spoken Spanish.

Programme

Compulsory subjects

  • Introduction to the global economy: classifications, indicators and premises.
  • Globalisation: concept, actors and tendencies.
  • International commercial relations and the World Trade Organisation.
  • International finances, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
  • The social effects of globalisation.
Profesorado:
  • Eduardo Bidaurratzaga Aurre
  • Juan Barredo Zurriarain
  • Efren Areskurrinaga Mirandona
  • Patxi Zabalo Arena

  • Institutional bases of the international system.
    • Order and institutions in the international system.
    • Actors of the international system.
    • The structure and dynamic of the international system.
  • A short approximation to the discipline of International Relations.
    • Four big debates.
    • Most imporant theories (and their variants): realism, liberalism, international society school, critical theory, social constructivism, feminism, poststructuralism, postcolonialism.
  • Applied analysis of International Relations Theory.
    • Critical analysis of the current international peacebuilding regime (liberal peace model).
    • Peace analysis and international security from the feminist theory of International Relations.
Teaching:
  • Itziar Mujika Chao
  • iker zirion landaluze
  • Caterina García Segura
  • Itziar Ruiz-Giménez Arrieta

  • Social processes and tendencies in global society.
  • Transformations in the social, economic and political structure of societies.
  • Theories on the cultural transformations of globalisation.
  • The transformations of the fundamental social institutions in current society.
  • Social complexity, diversity and cultural hibridity. 
  • The new era of migrations.
  • New processes of integration.
  • Conflict and social mobilisation in the global space.
Teaching:
  • Oihane García Santiago
  • Zésar Martínez García
  • Gorka Moreno Márquez
  • Benjamín Tejerina Montaña
  • Amaia Inza Bartolomé

  • Introduction to development debates. Development Studies from an historical perspective. Subjects and areas of development. Development, an evolving concept. The links between development, capitalism and socialism. The debates on development indicators.
  • Development, growth and wellbeing. The role of trade and growth: Protectionist and pro-free trade strategies. Growth and the question of underdevelopment. Growth and macroeconomic adjustment: adjustment as strategy. Growth in cities and its effects on the rural medium.
  • Development and structural transformation. The structural dimensions of development. The conception of underdevelopment as structural situation. Dualism at an international scale and the centre-periphery system. Industrialisation and structural change. Structuralism and dependency theory. World systems. Indicators related to structural change.
  • Development from a gender perspective. Patriarchy, capitalism and development. Relations of masculine domination and the development strategies. Social reproduction, the sustainability of life and caring. Feminisms and development. Development indicators referred to gender relations.
  • Human development, human poverty and inequalities. The debate on the objectives and the means of development. Development and the satisfaction of necessities: different approximations. The relations between growth, inequality and poverty in the debates on development. The characterisation of poverty and inequality: main approaches. Poverty and inequality indicators.
  • Development and sustainability. Sustainability in economic thought. Debates on the limits if natural resources and growth. From the Meadows Report to the Brundtland Report. Approximations and interpretations on sustainability. Indicators related to sustainability.
  • Critical visions and alternatives to development: The Good Living paradigm. Postmaterialist critique to the conventional notion of development. Alternative developments or alternatives to development? The Good Living proposal, its genealogy and different waves. Good Living objectives. Latin American experiences: transitions and (neo) extractivism.
Teaching:
  • Yolanda Jubeto Díaz
  • Iker Etxano Gandariasbeitia
  • Unai Villalba Eguiluz

  • Introduction to research: methodologies and strategies.
  • Quantitative analysis in social research: gathering and analysing data.
  • Qualitative techniques in the social sciences: gathering and analysing data.
  • Introduction to Excel and to descriptive analysis.
  • Frequency distribution: univariate and bivariate.
  • Statistical measures. Regression and correlation.
Teaching:
  • María Belén Castro Íñigo
  • Amaia De Sarachu Campos
  • Ana Irene Del Valle Loroño
  • María Henar Díez Sánchez
  • María Antonia Ispizua Uribarri
  • Luis María Zupiria Gorostidi

  • Research methodology and sustainability
  • Conflicts, civil society, participation and democracy.
  • Rural development, employment and democracy.
  • Feminist economics, multidimensional crisis and transition.
Teaching:
  • Carmen Extebarria Miguel
  • Jenny Pearce
  • Carlos Oya Martínez
  • Amaia Pérez Orozco

The Master’s dissertation consists in the elaboration of an original project, report or study under the supervision of one or more supervisors, where the contents, capabilities, competencies and abilities acquired during the master’s course, are integrated and developed. The work will be defended in front of a tribunal that will evaluate each student’s capacity of applying the acquired knowledge from each subjects’ theoretical and practical part.


Optional subjects

  • Culture and development. Presentation of the topic through foundational texts.
  • Communication and development. The New Order in Communication and Information.
  • The digital gap and unbalances in the trade of cultural goods.
  • World communication groups. The GAFA. Algorithms and big data.
  • Problems of information today: fake news, filter bubble, information overload.
Teaching:
  • Juan Carlos Miguel de Bustos

  • Human rights – Transnational Corporations (TNCs).
  • TNCs as the central axis of neoliberal globalisation: juridical issues.
  • Lex Mercatoria – Global Corporative Law Fortress Law
  • Privatisation of human rights. Crisis of civil and political rights. Feminisation of poverty. Demanding social and economic rights. The right to development. Fundamental labour rights, gainful employment. Social clauses: disloyal competence, dumping, universalisation of labour rights.
  • Normative reply – Weakness of International Law: Human Rights – International Labour Rights.
  • Regulation proposals. International norms and International Social Tribunal. Social norms. From protectionism to universalisation – the UN.
  • Counterhegemonic networks. Social and union alliances. Peoples treaty. Social and union action: Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal to try TNCs.
Teaching:
  • Efren Areskurrinaga Mirandona
  • Júlia Martí Comas

  • Trade politics and development.
    • Critical revision of the international trade theories.
    • Trade politics and economic growth.
    • The WTO contributes to withdrawing the staircase.
  • The role of the South in trade globalisation.
    • The majority of Southern economies depend on the exportation of primary goods.
    • Exporting success, industrialisation and development.
  • Transnational corporations, value chains and the development of Southern economies.
    • The role of the transnational corporation.
    • Global value chains and clusters.
Teaching:
  • Xabier Barrutia Etxebarria
  • Francisco Zabalo Arena

  • Democracy, governance and development in Africa.
    • Connections between development, governance and democracy.
    • The political history of the African government and the debates on the African state.
    • Democracy and governance indicators for African countries.
    • Approaches and tools of local development, governance and democracy to analyse African realities.
  • Globalisation, development and cooperation in Africa.
    • Africa in the global economy: integration and development.
    • Socio-economic indicators for Africa.
    • Progresses and setbacks in African structural development.
    • The role of international actors in African development: ODA, TNCs and emerging powers.
Teaching:
  • Jokin Alberdi Bidaguren
  • Eduardo Bidaurratzaga Aurre

  • Feminist economy current keys and debates.
  • Gender and development: development strategies and their vision of women.
  • Social policies for equality.
Teaching:
  • Elena Martínez Tola
  • Amaia García Aizpuru
  • María Luz de la Cal Barredo

  • Change in the typology of armed conflict.
  • Debates on the causes and nature of current civil wars: identity, economic and political factors.
  • Complex political emergencies and “failed states”.
  • The evolution of threats as a concept: new threats, global risk society and terrorism.
  • The evolution of security as a concept.
  • The confluence of security and development.
  • Peace operations, “humanitarian interventions” and “responsibility to protect”.

Teaching:

  • Karlos Pérez de Armiño

  • Introduction
    • Diagnosis: crisis and indicators. Unsustainability of the global development model.
    • Human development and sustainability.
  • North-South disparities.
    • Social metabolism and ecological debt.
    • Socio-ecological conflicts and environmental justice.
  • Biomimetic Economy.
    • Communal and sustainable economy.
    • Solar economy
    • Circular economy.

Teaching:

  • Gorka Bueno Mendieta
  • Iker Etxano Gandariasbeitia
  • Eneko Garmendia Oleaga

  • Poverty at present.
  • The measurement of poverty.
  • New thinking around poverty. Poverty processes. The concept of welfare and poverty from the view of human development.
  • New processes of impoverishment in the developed world since the 80s: conceptualisation and causes.
  •  Complementary aspects for the study of the current impoverishment phenomena.
    • Processes of impoverishment amongst the youth.
    • Poverty and gender.
    • Homeless people.
    • Poor workers.
  • Anti-poverty struggle and social exclusion policies.

Teaching:

    • María Luz de la Cal Barredo.

  • Placing oneself in the other’s shoes.
  • What role do ethics play in this thing called development?
  • Changing one’s life to change life.
  • Population and development: when the others are the problem.
  • Political boarders, ethical boarders.
  • Who is interested in solidarity?
  • The communicated horror: conscience or anaesthesia?
  • Denouncing the nakedness of the emperor: the importance of narratives.

Teaching:

    • Imanol Zubero Beascoechea.

  • Main paradigms and evaluation models.
  • Process of evaluation design and conduction.
  • Tools and techniques that can be applied throughout each evaluation phase.
  • Alternative evaluation approaches in the field of international development cooperation.

Teaching:

    • Unai Villena Camarero.

  • The evolution of regional politics: theories and approaches.
  • Urban policies in the international and European field.
  • Regional and urban politics. A few working lines.
  • Social innovation and urban policies.
  • Social innovation and housing.

Teaching:

    • Aitziber Etxezarreta Etxarri
    • Xabier Gainza Barrencua
    • María Elena Martínez Tola

  • The Tertiary Sector and Social Economy.
  • Social enterprises and cooperation. Inclusive businesses and businesses at the base of the pyramid.
  • Social Economy and Solidarity Economy.
    • Bases and historical development.
    • Social Economy today.
    • Social Economy in the Basque Country.
    • Promotion and association tools.
  • Social and Solidarity Economy.
    • New concept.
    • Developments and debates.
  • The debate on the participation of SSE in welfare systems.
    • Revision from a gender perspective.
    • Revision of the regimes from the vision of the tertiary sector.
  • SSE and the Commons proposal.

Teaching:

    • Enekoitz Etxezarreta Etxarri
    • Juan Carlos Pérez de Mendiguren Castresana

Methodology

The master’s degree is made up of face-to-face classes, seminars and supervised assignments. Face-to-face classes are theoretical and practical in nature, always aiming for the maximum participation by the students. The subjects related to work with development indicators are carried out in IT rooms so that the students can get familiarised with the programmes more commonly utilised in statistical calculations and the construction of indicators. The seminars are organised around monographs and are oriented towards the treatment and the analysis of specific topics related to the subjects seen throughout the master’s degree. The topics are treated by specialists and are generally organised jointly with students from the master’s degree in Globalisation and Development and the master’s degree in Development and International Cooperation.

Evaluation

Although each subject might have different evaluation procedures depending on the characteristics of the subjects and the methodology of the work predominantly used by the teachers, the mechanisms used to evaluate the knowledge of the students is the following:

  • Shown interest and participation in class.
  • Fulfilment of individual or group work.
  • Presentations in class.
  • Fulfilment of practical exercises.
  • Group tests proposed by the teachers.


If you wish to learn more about the master's degree and the syllabus, visit its web page on the UPV/EHU site.