Responsibility has become a major reference point in global governance, sometimes formalized in specific policy norms (e.g., CSR or R2P). Even where it is not explicitly stated as a policy, responsibility features prominently in a variety of political debates, for instance in claims for ethical standards for bankers, addressing the responsibility of powerful states to take care of global problems or with regard to choices made in building just societies. Responsibility thus is of crucial concern for policy communities and at the same time has attracted increasing academic attention. The literature is characterized by diversity with regard to theoretical approaches, disciplines and policy fields. The main objective of the course is to develop an interdisciplinary understanding of responsibility in world politics and capture its broader meaning – beyond accountability – as referring to the ethical foundation of politics. We draw on literature in international relations, international business/business ethics, philosophy and international law in order to introduce students to different ethical dimensions of global politics. In the first part of the course, we will approach responsibility conceptually with an attempt to shed light on its different meanings. Secondly, we will zoom in on specific global challenges in which responsibility figures prominently such as world poverty, science and technology, environmental policies, corporate responsibility or the responsibility to protect. We conclude the course by looking into different suggested alternatives about how to tackle global challenges and the ways in which responsibility can be practiced in global governance.