Global Ethics

This course examines the main theories and key topics in contemporary international ethics. The first part is devoted to an analysis and discussion of the main theories of global justice, such as cosmopolitanism, statism, nationalism, post-colonialism and republicanism. The second applies these theories to a number of key topics including global poverty, climate change, immigration, international trade, humanitarian intervention, political assassination, the legitimacy of international courts and global democracy._x000D_

The course aims to (i) familiarise students with the contemporary literature on global justice and ethics, and (ii) enable students to engage in sophisticated normative debates about important matters of international concern (migration, poverty relief, global citizenship, the democratisation of international institutions and so forth)._x000D_

By the end of the course, students should (i) have a clear grasp of the contemporary literature on global justice and ethics; (ii) be able to construct sustained normative arguments drawing on a range of theories of global justice, on a number of key topics in international ethics, as well as be able to defend them against opposing arguments and perspectives; and (iii) be able to make links between theoretical ideas and empirical information, with particular reference to existing global issues and institutions.