GOVT-353: Political Theory and the Global Order. Craig French Department of Government, Georgetown University Fall 2009

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1 GOVT-353: Political Theory and the Global Order Craig French Department of Government, Georgetown University Fall Office hours: Wednesdays, 1-3pm, Midnight Mug (or by appointment). Class meets: Mondays, pm, New North 412. Course Description This course is an introduction to a select number of themes within international political theory. This branch of normative political theory deals with the moral dilemmas, tensions and contradictions posed by the emerging global political order. We will not spend a great deal of time examining the institutions of the international order themselves. Students interested in exploring such empirical issues in greater detail are advised to consider taking GOVT-288: International Political Economy or GOVT-298: International Organization. Instead, our goal in this course is to think through the moral implications of our present condition. That is to say, we will explore and assess the social, political and cultural forces which govern the international movement of people, capital and political authority in the modern world. In order to so do, we will examine several of the responses to globalization adopted by contemporary political philosophers. For the purposes of this seminar, I have divided these into nationalist and cosmopolitan responses. Some nationalists have responded to world events by attempting to reassert the ethical value of nationalist sentiment, regarding it as a necessary and valuable restriction upon the kinds of moral duties we owe to those outside our own national borders (Miller). On the other hand, thinkers broadly operating under the banner of cosmopolitanism have sought to specify what the global rich owe to the global poor, notwithstanding the lack of a shared national identity (Pogge), how the international order ought to be restructured according to principles of a global democratic theory (Held), or how cosmopolitan norms can be grafted onto national democratic politics in the form of rights of hospitality (Benhabib). Others still have sought to transcend the distributivist paradigm by arguing that a theory of global justice ought to attend to the idea of cultural recognition in international politics (Fraser). After surveying these trends, we will finish the course by speculating on some of the connections between ideology, violence and global terror. Required Reading You should purchase the following texts, which will be made available to you at the University bookstore. They are also readily available online though Amazon.com, sometimes at a considerable discount if purchased second-hand. Benhabib, Seyla. Another Cosmopolitanism. New York: Oxford University Press, ISBN:

2 Fraser, Nancy. Scales of Justice: Reimagining Political Space in a Globalizing World. New York: Columbia University Press, ISBN: Held, David. Democracy and the Global Order. Stanford: Stanford University Press, ISBN: Miller, David. On Nationality. New York: Oxford University Press, ISBN: Pogge, Thomas. World Poverty and Human Rights. Cambridge: Polity, ISBN: X Young, Iris Marion. Global Challenges: War, Self-Determination and Responsibility for Justice. Cambridge: Polity, ISBN: X Other readings will be provided by electronic reserve (PDF) via Blackboard. Once you log into the Blackboard site for this class, journal articles will appear in Course Documents >> Assigned Journal Articles. Where individual chapters from books are assigned, aside from those listed above, these are available under Course Documents >> Assigned Chapters. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you experience any difficulty in obtaining these materials. Course Requirements (a) Seminar The class consists of weekly, two-hour seminars which run over the course of 13 weeks. Attendance at each seminar is mandatory and you should note that absences are only permitted in cases of illness (for which a doctor s note must be produced) or by prior agreement with me. If you believe that you will be absent from class due to reasons of a personal nature, please me and I will try to accommodate your (reasonable) needs to the best of my ability. Your role: My role: You should be prepared to share your thoughts on the week s material with your fellow classmates. This requires that you: (a) do the reading; (b) reflect critically on that reading, thinking carefully about the points of concern or clarification you may wish to raise in class; and (c) take an active part in class discussion in a polite, respectful and articulate manner. In seminar, the use of cell phones, PDAs and laptops is prohibited. In my experience these devices pose an unwarranted distraction and hinder class discussion. At the beginning of each class, I will suggest a number of topics that we should attend to in our discussion (these will be drawn from the weekly assigned readings). Thereafter, I will aim to ensure that discussion flows freely, effectively and fairly. You may think of me as a mediator. I will make judicious interventions and I will allow those seeking to enter the discussion to do so. I will also reign in the tendencies of those who seek to 2

3 monopolize the debate for their own idiosyncratic purposes. But I will not lecture to the class, and it must be understood from the outset that you, as a collective, are largely responsible for the success (or otherwise) of our meetings. (b) Assessment Your grade for this course will be based upon the following components: 20% class participation (rewarded for the quality of contributions, not quantity) 30% mid-term paper (5-10 pages, due Monday 26 October) 50% final research paper (15-20 pages, due Friday 18 December) Your papers should be double spaced, with footnotes and a bibliography. Citations and footnotes should appear in the Chicago style. Do not, under any circumstances, use Wikipedia to conduct research for your paper. You should only use books and journal articles drawn from the library collection. You will notice that we will only read portions of the set texts for class, leaving other sections of the books untouched. You are strongly encouraged to read these other sections and chapters in preparation for the papers. Furthermore, I will provide you with an extended reading list as we approach the essay due dates, which you may use as you wish. Good writing is essential for success in your college career (and beyond). Therefore, the presentation of your essay (that is to say the style in which it is written, grammar, spelling, accurate and appropriate use of quotations etc.) will count towards the grade you receive for it. If you think that this may be a problem for you, you should consult Strunk and White s Elements of Style, the university writing center, or me for further advice. And remember: always acknowledge your sources, since failure to do so constitutes plagiarism. If you don t know what this means, please consult the following websites: Any student found to be in breach of the university s rules on plagiarism will receive an F grade in the course and will be subject to further disciplinary proceedings brought by the university administration. The toughest penalties will be sought for offenders. You have been warned! Finally, papers that are handed in after the deadline has passed will attract a grade penalty of one notch on the grade scale ( i.e. a + or a - ) per day late. Schedule PART I MAKING SENSE OF OUR PRESENT CONDITION 2 September - Introduction Introductory Meeting 3

4 7 September - No Class (Labor Day) 14 September The Global as a Condition of Theory Douglas Kellner, Theorizing globalization, Sociological Theory 20(3) (2005): 285. Alex Callinicos, Social Theory: A Historical Introduction (New York: NYU Press, 1999), Ch. 13. Richard Sennett, The Culture of the New Capitalism (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2007), Introduction and Ch. 1 (read the whole book if you have time). PART II - THE COSMOPOLITAN RESPONSE 21 September - Global Distributive Justice Thomas Pogge, World Poverty and Human Rights (Cambridge: Polity, 2002). Chs September - Globalizing Democratic Theory David Held, Democracy and the Global Order (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1995). Chs. 1, 5, 6. 5 October - Cont. David Held, Democracy and the Global Order. Chs. 10,11, October No Class (Columbus Day) 19 October Cont. Iris Marion Young, Global Challenges: War, Self-Determination and Responsibility for Justice (Cambridge: Polity, 2007). Chs. 2, 3, 5, 7, October - From Redistribution to Recognition (and back again?) Mid-term papers due in class. Marek Hrubek, Towards global Justice: an interview with Nancy Fraser, Czech Sociological Review 6 (2004): 879. Nancy Fraser, Scales of Justice (Cambridge: Polity, 2008). Chs November - Cont. Nancy Fraser, Scales of Justice. Chs. 4, 5, 8, 9. 4

5 9 November - Negotiating the National/Cosmopolitan Dilemma through Hospitality Seyla Benhabib, The Philosophical Foundations of Cosmopolitan Norms and Democratic Iterations: The Local, The National and the Global in Another Cosmopolitanism (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008). PART III - THE NATIONALIST RESPONSE 16 November - Renascent Nationalisms? David Miller, On Nationality (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995), Chs November - Cont. David Miller, On Nationality, Chs November - Nationalism and Global Justice David Miller, National responsibility and global justice, Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy 11(4) (2008): 383. Gillian Brock, What do we owe others as a matter of global justice and does national membership matter? Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy (11)(4) (2008): 433. Kok-Chor Tan, National responsibility, reparations and distributive justice, Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy (11)(4) (2008): 449. PART IV SPECULATIONS ON A FUTURE IMPERFECT 7 December - Terrorism, Violence and Global (Dis)order Manfred Steger, Jihadist Globalism versus Imperial Globalism: The Great Ideological Struggle of the Twenty-First Century? in The Rise of the Global Imaginary: Political Ideologies from the French Revolution to the Global War on Terror (New York: Oxford University Press, 2008). Iris Marion Young, Power, Violence and Legitimacy: A Reading of Hannah Arendt in an Age of Police Brutality and Humanitarian Intervention, in Global Challenges: War, Self-Determination and Responsibility for Justice (Cambridge: Polity, 2007). Véronique Zanetti, Global Justice: Is Interventionism Desirable? in Global Justice, ed. Thomas Pogge (Oxford: Blackwell, 2001). 18 December Final Paper Due 5