WAR, PEACE AND THE SOVEREIGN STATE: POLITICAL THOUGHT FROM MACHIAVELLI TO KANT

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1 WAR, PEACE AND THE SOVEREIGN STATE: POLITICAL THOUGHT FROM MACHIAVELLI TO KANT Professeur : Giulio DE LIGIO Année universitaire 2016/2017 : Semestre d automne COURSE DESCRIPTION Classical political philosophy took its bearings from the ultimate goals of the city as they relate to the question of the good life. It considered the survival of separate political communities to be an uncontroversial aim. Modern political thinkers changed that focus in two apparently contradictory ways: Political conflicts and states of exception provided the starting point of their reflection; they came to seek the establishment of the conditions of a universal peace beyond the division of sovereign States. This course will try to develop a better understanding of the relationship between the practical and intellectual criteria modern political thinkers elaborated in order to legitimate the new political order and their interpretation of war and peace. We will discuss their arguments by reading passages of major works from Machiavelli s Prince to Kant s Perpetual Peace. We will not be able to reach a comprehensive understanding of their thought but to sharpen our perspective on international issues without evading the primary human questions raised by political life. CLASS SCHEDULE Week 1: Introduction to the course Hassner P., The philosophy of War and Peace in Historical perspective in International Affairs, vol. 70, no. 4, oct (pdf) Manent P., The Modern State in Lilla M. (ed.), New French Thought. Political Philosophy, Princeton 1994 Week 2: Machiavelli s approach: effectual truth or republicanism? Presentation 1: Machiavelli, Prince, chapters

2 Presentation 2: Machiavelli, Prince, chapters Mansfield H., Machiavelli s enterprise in «The new Criterion», October 2013 (pdf) Viroli M., Machiavelli and the republican idea of politics in Bock G., Skinner Q., Viroli M. (eds.), Machiavelli and Republicanism, Cambridge Week 3: Machiavelli on conflict: between virtù and corruption Presentation 1: Machiavelli, Discourses on Livy, book I, chapters 4-5 Presentation 2: Machiavelli, Discourses on Livy, book I, chapters XVII-XVIII Maihofer W., The ethos of the republic and the reality of politics in Bock G., Skinner Q., Viroli M. (eds.), Machiavelli and Republicanism, Cambridge, Ménissier T., Corruption, Virtue and Republic in Machiavelli s Work in «South-East European Journal of Political Science», no. 4, vol. I, 2013 (pdf) Week 4: Machiavelli and the internal/external dynamics of political bodies Presentation 1: Machiavelli, Prince, chapters 6-7 Presentation 2: Machiavelli, Discourses on Livy, book II, chapter 1; book III, chapter 1 Mansfield H., An Introduction to Machiavelli s Art of War in Mansfield H., Machiavelli s virtue, Chicago 1998 Boucher D., Machiavelli, human nature and the exemplar of Rome in Boucher D., Political Theories of International Relations, Oxford Week 5: Hobbes s new political science Presentation 1: Hobbes, Leviathan, chapters Presentation 2: Hobbes, Leviathan, chapters Skinner Q., Hobbes on Persons, Authors and Representatives in The Cambridge Companion to Hobbes, Cambridge

3 Strauss L., On the spirit of Hobbes s political philosophy in Brown, Hobbes Studies, Blackwell, Oxford 1965 Week 6: Hobbes on the nature and conditions of peace Presentation 1: Hobbes, Leviathan, chapter XIII Presentation 2: Hobbes, Leviathan, chapter XXIX Bull H., Hobbes and International Anarchy in «Social Research», 48, 1981 (pdf) Armitage D., Hobbes and the foundations of modern international thought in Armitage D., Foundations of Modern International Thought, Cambridge 2013 Week 7: Locke s civil society: its origins and ends Presentation 1: Locke, Second Treatise of Government, chapters V and VII Presentation 2: Locke, Second Treatise of Government, chapters VIII-IX Ashcraft R., Locke s political philosophy in The Cambridge Companion to Locke, Cambridge 1994 Dunn J., What is living and what is dead in the political theory of John Locke?, in Dunn J., Interpreting Political Responsibility, Princeton 1990 Week 8: Locke, federative power and right to rebellion Presentation 1: Locke, Second Treatise of Government, chapters XII and XVI Presentation 2: Locke, Second Treatise of Government, chapter XIX Armitage D., John Locke s international thought in Armitage D., Foundations of Modern International Thought, Cambridge 2013 Tarcov N., Locke s Second Treatise and The Best Fence against Rebellion in «Review of Politics», vol. 43, no. 2, Week 9: Rousseau s social contract Presentation 1: Rousseau, Social Contract, book I, chapters 4-9 Presentation 2: Rousseau, Social Contract, book II, chapters

4 Manent P., Rousseau, critic of liberalism in Manent P., Intellectual History of Liberalism, Princeton 1996 Riley P., Rousseau s General Will in Riley P., The Cambridge Companion to Rousseau, Cambridge 2001 Week 10: Rousseau on war and progress Presentation 1: Rousseau, Discourse on the Sciences and the Arts, in The Discourses and other early political writings, Cambridge 2003 Presentation 2: Rousseau, The state of war in The Social Contract and other political writings, Cambridge 2003 Hassner P., Rousseau and the theory and practice of international relations in The legacy of Rousseau, Chicago 1996 Hoffmann S., Rousseau on war and peace in «The American Political Science Review», 1963, vol. 57, no. 2, 1963 Week 11: Kant and the political meaning of Enlightenment Presentation 1: Kant, An answer to the question «What is Enlightenment?» in Political writings, Cambridge 1991 Presentation 2: Kant, Idea for a Universal History with a Cosmopolitan Purpose in Political writings, Cambridge 1991 Perreau-Saussine A., Immaunel Kant on International Law in Besson S., Tasioulas J (eds.), The Philosophy of International Law, Oxford 2010 Koselleck R., Critique and Crises, MIT Press, 1998, chapter 8 Week 12: Kant on perpetual peace Presentation 1: Kant, A Renewed Attempt to Answer the Question: «Is the Human Race Continually Improving?» in Political Writings, Cambridge 1991 Presentation 2: Kant, Perpetual Peace: A philosophical sketch in Political writings, Cambridge

5 Hassner P., Kant, in Strauss L., Cropsey J. (eds), History of Political Philosophy, Chicago, 1987 Shell S., Kant on just wars and unjust enemies in «Kantian Review» 10, 2005 Couse evaluation Grade Breakdown: 40% oral presentation (commentary of a text) 40% final paper (10-15 pages, in a group of 3-4 students, on a chosen topic of the course) 20% participation GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY Armitage D., Foundations of Modern International Thought, Cambridge 2013 Aron R., Peace and War. A Theory of International Relations, Transaction Publisher 2003 D. Boucher, Political Theories of International Relations, Oxford 1998 Manent P., An Intellectual History of Liberalism, Princeton 1996 Schmitt C., The Nomos of the earth in the international law of Jus Publicum Europaeum, Telos Press Publishing 2003 Skinner Q., Foundations of Modern Political Thought, Cambridge 1978 Strauss L., Cropsey J. (eds.), History of Political Philosophy, Chicago