Course Website Address: http://www.polisci.umn.edu/courses/spring2000/3873/index.html

Course Description

Should nations intervene in other countries to prevent famine or human rights abuses? Is it ever right to go to war - if so, when? On what principles should immigration policies be based? Who should pay to avoid global environmental problems like global warming? Should wealthy states provide foreign aid to the poor - and if so, how much is enough? Is the use, testing or possession of nuclear weapons morally acceptable? Are sanctions against other states justified? This course will introduce you to different traditions of moral thought in order to provide you with the tools to make reasoned judgments about oftentimes difficult moral problems like these in global politics.

The answers to such moral problems in world politics depend in large part upon our responses to the following question: to whom do we owe obligations? Some long-standing traditions in international political thought have argued that as political beings we are to regard ourselves as morally responsible for the well-being of only ourselves (the skeptical tradition), or only of our fellow citizens (the communitarian position). On the other hand, the cosmopolitan ethic, which also boasts of a long tradition going back at least to the Stoics in Ancient Greece, literally entails regarding oneself as a "citizen of the world." Cosmopolitanism is the view that being a citizen in the interdependent world of the 21^st century means we should be equally concerned with the well-being of others regardless of who they are or where they live. Pushing the boundaries of moral concern even further, an ecological ethic maintains that our moral considerations ought to include the well-being of non-humans and/or the environment as a whole. How ought we regard our relation to others and our environment as we enter the new millennium? Do our civic political duties include responsibility for humanity and the world as a whole?

For moral skeptics, extending our moral concern to all others seems like an unreachable ideal, yet in the actual practice of contemporary world politics we do see numerous embodiments of a cosmopolitan ethic - whether it be efforts to uphold human rights, provide humanitarian relief, or deal with transboundary pollution. At the same time, it is clear that many people often and even usually act in ways that give moral priority to their own communities, a fact all too prominent in the century of ethnic cleansing and genocide. What are the limits of living according to a cosmopolitan ethic in the contemporary world? Even if we think we ought to help the unfortunate in other parts of the world, how much is enough, and how much is too much?

After engaging in such moral analysis, we may think we know what should be done on various issues; but we also need to ask: so what? Thinking about solutions does not necessarily make them happen, and the actual state of world politics may not look the way we think it should. Indeed, many of the problems of global politics seem so enormous that we may feel we cannot possibly do anything about them. Thus in this course we will also analyze whether and how moral concerns affects how the world actually turns out: how do international moral norms arise and what is their impact on world politics?

A full understanding of the limits and possibilities of moral change in world politics involves not just analysis but also participation as a member of global civil society. To that end, this course includes an optional project for the term assignment to put your moral reasoning into practice by becoming engaged as an active participant in an issue of global significance. There will be a limited number of opportunities to work as interns for an international non-governmental organization engaged in an international issue, such as the American Refugee Committee, the University of Minnesota Campaign to Ban Landmines, or the Center for Victims of Torture. Alternatively, students choosing the optional project may create and develop their own issue-awareness or fund-raising event for an issue of international moral concern. Projects that students have organized in the past have included a campus forum on the 1999 NATO intervention in Kosovo, an issue-awareness campaign on the treatment of women in Afghanistan, and the organization of music concerts as fund-raisers for relevant issues. Additional ideas could include consumer campaigns through the design and posting of a web-site or the design of an advertising campaign. I have organized some internship opportunities but they are limited, so interested students are encouraged to contact me early in the quarter and develop their own project ideas early. Students are also encouraged to take advantage of the 4-12 credit internship opportunities offered by the Political Science Department (Pol 3070) as a follow-up to 3873. Internship opportunities related to the course will be identified by the instructor and students are encouraged to use this class as a springboard to identify and pursue their own internship possibilities. These projects and internships are designed to offer first-hand experience of what it means to be a morally engaged citizen in the interdependent world of the 21^st century.

Course Requirements

This course emphasizes careful reading, thoughtful analysis, quality writing, and active participation. One session per week will be devoted to a thorough seminar discussion of assigned readings. Students must complete all of the required weekly readings as preparation for discussion sections. For each discussion section each student is required to be prepared to contribute at least three comments and/or questions about the readings. Participation in class discussions is 15% of your final grade, so take advantage of this by being prepared and by actively participating (conversely, not participating in class discussions can significantly lower your final grade).

Student evaluation is based upon active and informed participation in the discussion sections (15%), a thought paper (10%), an analytic paper that requires a revision (20%), a final essay exam (35%), and either a 8-10 page research paper on a topic approved by the instructor or a student project designed in consultation with the instructor (25%). Late papers, late topic statements, and late project approvals will result in a penalty of 3% per day for that assignment.

NOTE: Students must provide proper documentation for excused absences (illnesses, deaths of loved ones, etc.) and/or to receive any extension of deadlines. Make-up exams or incompletes will only be given for documented emergencies.

Grades

1) Participation: 15%

2) Thought Paper (3 pages, Due Monday January 31) 10%

3) Analytic Paper: 20%

First Draft - 10% (Due Monday, February 28)

Final Revision - 10% (Due Monday, March 20)

4) Term Assignment: 25%

Students choose ONE of the following:

1) 8-10 Page Research Paper: A one-page statement of your paper topic statement is due no later than Friday March 24. Paper is due Friday, April 21.

OR

2) Student Internship or Participatory Project Designed in Consultation with Instructor. Project must be approved by Professor Price no later than Friday, March 10. Presentation of an overview of the project or internship to the class will account for 15% of your grade for this assignment.

5) Final Exam: Saturday, May 13, 1:30 - 3:30 p.m. 30%.

Questions will be handed out one week before the exam.