SYLLABUS

Justice in Politics and International Relations - JPM327

Institute of Political Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University in Prague

Instructor: Janusz Salamon, Ph.D.

ETCS: 5 credits
Prerequisites: None

PLACE: Wednesday, Jinonice campus, classroom 4020

TIME: 15:30-16:50

CONTACTS:

Office hours: Tuesdays, 12:30-14:00, Jinonice campus, office room 3101
Email: janusz.salamon at univ-oxford.com

COURSE OBJECTIVES.

The aim of this course is to introduce students to the theories of justice in society (social justice) and in international relations (global justice). While the necessary historical and philosophical background of the age-long struggle for social justice will be taken into account, the main focus of the course will be the contemporary debates about justice in domestic and international politics. Since "theories of justice" constitute the central part of the contemporary political theory, the ideas of some of the most influential political theorists of the 20^th century will be discussed in the course of the semester, and the class readings will include fragments of some of the most important works of political philosophy of our times. Discussing various theories of justice, their relevance to the current political practice will always be considered (for example, by identifying how these theories of justice inform programs of various political parties and movements that are important part of the political scene in Europe and elsewhere.

COURSE CONTENTS:

Class 1. The relevance of the theories of justice to the practice of domestic and international politics

Class 2. Justice as virtue (Plato)

Class 3. Justice as reciprocity (Aristotle)

Class 4. Justice as utility (Utilitarians)

Class 5. Justice as fairness (John Rawls)

Class 6. Justice as entitlement (Robert Nozick)

Class 7. The Theory of complex equality and the 'spheres of justice' (Michael Walzer)

Class 8. Mid-term exam

Class 9. John Rawls and his 'Law of Peoples'

Class 10. Global Distributive Justice (Thomas Pogge)

Class 11. Capabilities and Global Justice (Martha Nussbaum)

Class 12. Justice Across Borders (Amartya Sen)

Class 13. Transnational Economic Justice (Onora O'Neill)

Class 14. Disputing International Distributive Justice (Philippe Van Parijs & Jon Mandle)

COURSE READINGS.

All readings will be available in electronic format available for download from the course website (in the SIS).

Principal readings will be drawn from the following books:

Robert C. Solomon, Mark C. Murphy (eds), What Is Justice? Classic and Contemporary Readings. 2^nd Edition, OUP, 2000.

Alan Ryan (ed.), Justice, Oxford Readings in Politics and Government, OUP, 1993.

John Rawls, A Theory of Justice

Robert Nozick, Anarchy, State, and Utopia

Michael Walzer, Spheres of Justice

Peter Dews (ed.), Habermas: A Critical Reader

Amartya Sen, The Idea of Justice

Michael Sandel, Justice: What is the Right Thing to Do

Martha Nussbaum, Frontiers of Justice

T. Pogge, K. Horton (eds), Global Ethics: Seminal Essays, Paragon, 2008

T. Pogge, D. Moellendorf (eds), Global Justice: Seminal Essays, Paragon House, 2008

M.R. Amstutz, International Ethics: Concepts, Theories, and Cases in Global Politics, Rowman and Littlefield, 2008

P. Hayden (ed.), Ethics and International Relations, Ashgate, 2009

R. Shapcott, International Ethics. A Critical Introduction, Polity, 2010

G. Graham, Ethics and International Relations, Blackwell,1997

T. Brooks (ed.), The Global Justice Reader, Blackwell, 2008

N. Dower, World Ethics, Edinburgh University Press, 1998

P. Singer, One World: The Ethics of Globalization, Yale University Press, 2002

K. Hutchings, Global Ethics: An Introduction, Polity, 2010.

COURSE GRADING:

Mid-term Exam 40%

Final Exam 60%

Total 100%

Mid-term and Final Exams

Both exams will be in written form. The mid-term exam will last 80 minutes. The final exam will last 120 minutes. Students will be asked to select in accordance with their preference a given number of topics from a list provided by the instructor and to discuss (in a form of short essays) relevant issues covering the material explored in class and in the related readings. Critical assessment of the theories and arguments - as opposed to mere memorisation - is expected. The exam (as well as the research paper described below) is compulsory for all enrolled students.