Justice Beyond Borders

GOV 94TP Subject & Catalog Number

Description

We do not choose the country we are born into, yet it shapes our opportunities, our freedoms, and where we may travel, settle, and work. Is state membership morally arbitrary, or does the accident of birth carry genuine moral weight? At a time of resurgent nationalism and declining international cooperation, this seminar examines contemporary political theory’s tendency to treat the state as the natural arena of justice. Does this focus reflect an implicit bias in favor of nationalism, a pragmatic acceptance of political realities, or something else? Topics also include global inequality, duties to compatriots, migration, human rights, climate change, and war. Throughout, we consider how normative arguments relate to empirical realities, and whether political theory should articulate an ideal or guide action in a non-ideal world. In the second half of the course, each student will develop an original argument into a research paper.