TEACHING COMPANION
After You
Their climate promise changed. What happens next?
Conditional cooperation, domestic politics & climate diplomacy · 40–50 min
Learning goals
- Distinguish conditional international cooperation from domestic incentives and bargaining.
- Predict an actor's response and identify evidence that could distinguish competing explanations.
- Revise a recommendation while accounting for distributional effects and unresolved uncertainty.
Class setup & submission
Start For Class and enter your name. Course or section is optional. Complete six stages and six written checkpoints totaling at least 240 words. For Fun keeps separate progress and offers optional writing.
When the Class assignment is complete, choose Print / Save PDF and upload the PDF to Canvas.
Students type their written responses in For Class.
Course materials
Before the activity
Introduce climate cooperation or begin with the opening evidence. The reading guide pairs the scenario with published research.
Syllabus description
One government makes a climate promise. Workers, firms, and coastal residents in another country have different stakes. Advise the government, predict its next move, and follow records that complicate your first explanation. Students produce a class pdf with advice, three forecasts, selected records, a causal explanation, and a research transfer.
Discussion prompts
- Who gains and who bears the cost if Luma makes a stronger commitment?
- Which observation would show that another country's pledge changed a domestic decision?
- What evidence would help distinguish reciprocity from a shift in domestic politics?
What to assess
Look for a defensible causal account, a meaningful rival, accurate dated evidence, and a specific way to test the explanation in the new case.
Limitations
Vela, Luma, and the records are fictional. The published studies address specific research settings and illuminate possible mechanisms.
Credit & permissions
Created by Yoav Duman. Free educational use, sharing and hosted embedding; software rights reserved. See the reuse information for software, artwork, branding and third-party materials.
Suggested citation
Yoav Duman, “After You: Teaching companion,” Trouble in Common, https://trouble-in-common.ishmaldon.chatgpt.site/teaching/after-you. Include your access date.
ASSESSMENT & SUBMISSION
Assess the reasoning.
Set an endpoint and tell students which report or response record to upload to your course website. Use the activity’s own grading guide when available.
A suggested 10-point rubric
Give each criterion 0 points if absent, 1 if partial and 2 if clear and supported. Adjust the weighting to fit the activity.
- Concepts / 2
- Use a relevant international relations concept accurately.
- Evidence / 2
- Support a claim with a specific record or comparison.
- Mechanism / 2
- Show how actors, rules or pressures connect to the outcome.
- Revision / 2
- Consider a rival explanation or explain what changed your mind.
- Limits / 2
- Identify what remains uncertain and what evidence would help.
Before students begin
- Choose For Class if the activity offers a mode switch. Follow the endpoint your instructor assigns.
- Keep a progress backup when the activity offers one, especially before changing devices or websites.
- Review your responses and export the report or files listed in the assignment.
- Upload your work to the course website and check for the submission confirmation.
A progress backup restores a session. The readable report shows the work you’re asking students to explain or defend.
Prepare an assignment to share.
Edit this text, then copy it into Canvas or your course website. These edits stay in this tab.
Syllabus description & discussion prompts
Syllabus description
One government makes a climate promise. Workers, firms, and coastal residents in another country have different stakes. Advise the government, predict its next move, and follow records that complicate your first explanation. Students produce a class pdf with advice, three forecasts, selected records, a causal explanation, and a research transfer.
Questions for a discussion board or class debrief
- Who gains and who bears the cost if Luma makes a stronger commitment?
- Which observation would show that another country's pledge changed a domestic decision?
- What evidence would help distinguish reciprocity from a shift in domestic politics?