At the end of the course students will have aquired familiarity with the main authors, from Machiavelli to Marx, who contributed to the development of the political thought of state and empire. Both authors and ideas will be examined in their historical and intellectual context. Topics examined in this course include, but are not limited to, sovereignty, natural rights, constitutionalism, and revolution. Skills that will be practised and developed in this course include an ability to contextualize historically political works and ideas, to think critically and challenge assumptions, to communicate ideas and arguments effectively, to formulate and justify arguments and conclusions about a range of issues, and present appropriate supporting evidence. Students will also acquire time management skills and an ability to independently organise their own study methods and workload.
Course Prerequisites
General knowledge of modern and contemporary history.
Teaching Methods
Lectures
Assessment Methods
Final oral exam
Texts
• Brian R. Nelson, The making of the modern state : a theoretical evolution / (New York, NY : Palgrave macmillian) Available in Pavia • David Armitage, Foundations of modern international thought (Cambridge UP, 2013) - selected chapters • Materials provided by the instructor and made available on the course's webpage on Kiro (slides, further readings etc. made available on Kiro by the instructor).
Contents
Modern thinkers understood the political communities in which they lived in two ways: the first comprised the concepts of ‘state’ and ‘sovereign’, which were often combined to form the notion of ‘sovereign state’. The second way of thinking about political community was that of ‘empire’. This concept was mainly connected to the legacy of the Roman empire and it developed in conjunction with the European encounters with the extra-European world. The course aims to introduce students to the ideas and works of some of the most important political thinkers, from Machiavelli to Marx, who contributed to the development of the political thought of state and empire. Both authors and ideas will be examined in their historical and intellectual context. Topics examined in this course include, but are not limited to, sovereignty, natural rights, constitutionalism, and revolution.
