This module provides the opportunity for students, interested in the problem of global poverty and the ideal of global justice, to develop their knowledge of a number of theories of underdevelopment, policy debates and philosophical arguments regarding the importance and moral obligation to provide aid and support for the distant needy.  It should appeal to anyone who has an interest in the politics of the Third World or political philosophy.

The module aims to develop students’ understanding of contemporary philosophy through studying how the first world responds to the problems of the third world.  The intention is to encourage reflection on basic attitudes towards the developing world, and the way that we in the first world should respond to the difficulties it faces. By the end of the module students should have the ability to discuss practical aspects of development in a reflective manner, and express their philosophical and normative ideas in the context of contemporary theories.

1.      Outline the theories of key thinkers in contemporary liberal political theory.

2.      Outline the central philosophical ideas of those theories that fall under the rubric of 'Global Justice'.

3.      Evaluate the implications of 'statist' and 'cosmopolitan' theories.

4.      Appraise and put forward philosophical and theoretical arguments.

5.      Compare and critically analyze the various accounts of global inequality.

6.      Evaluate a range of policy recommendations for assisting under-developed regions.

7.      Analyze the normative implications of a variety of perspectives on under-development.

8.      Discuss the broader significance and role of international political theory within the field of International Politics.

This 20 credit module will be taught through ten one hour lectures and ten two hour seminars.  The lectures will offer an introduction to the key texts being studied, in addition to providing some background information to place the readings in context. Each seminar will be two hours in length, allowing students the time to debate and raise questions on the readings and to ensure a good understanding of the main themes.  The module is divided into two parts, the first getting to grips with the practical elements of development, critically assessing a variety of policy paradigms and the ideologies underpinning them, whilst the second will focus on different philosophical discussions in favour of strong duties to assist the distant needy.

Intellectual Skills:

The ability to critically examine texts relating to development policy in the third world

The ability to interpret philosophical texts and to understand texts in the context of a tradition of thought

The ability to articulate and assess arguments

The ability to reach conclusions with sound reasoning and detailed interpretations of source material

The ability to develop a consistent position about key themes raised in the module

Discipline Specific Skills:

The ability to analyse and construct philosophical and normative arguments

The ability to draw together and use a wide range of texts that form the foundational material for discussions on the issue of global justice

Transferable Skills:

The ability to analyse arguments

The ability to read texts in a disciplined and creative manner

The ability to communicate clearly and accurately in written work

The ability to present work that has a logical structure

The ability to form their own views and independent positions

Students will develop employability skills which include the ability to synthesise information, operating in group-based discussion involving negotiating ideas and producing clear, informed arguments in a professional manner

The formative assessment for this module will take the form of one essay of 1,000 words, on a specified topic.  This essay should be submitted via Y Porth, by the specified date. Essays will be returned via email.

The summative assessment for this module will include a learning log and one portfolio essay.  The weighting for each assessment is set out below. 

The learning log will consist of weekly critical summaries of the compulsory reading, no longer than 500 words, with students identifying key issues and problems. They are to be submitted at the end of each seminar for feedback, and to be presented as a collection at the end of the module. The portfolio essay will consist of one essay of a maximum of 2500 words and will be selected from the same questions as the formative essays. It must be written especially for the portfolio, but may be based on the formative essay – although a far more thorough critical discussion will be expected.

This module is assessed according to the Marking Criteria set out in the Philosophy Course Guide. There are no academic or competence standards which limit the availability of adjustments or alternative assessments for students with disabilities.

Lectures:

1.      Introduction: the roots of global poverty – the historical perspective

2.      Political Modernization vs World Systems Theory

3.      Development Aid: Should we or Shouldn't we?

4.      Fair Trade: A "Just" International Political Economy?

5.      State-Building and Democratization: Ameliorative Assistance or Unjustified Intervention?

6.      Political Theory in International Relations: Making room for the "moral" in IR

7.      Contemporary Political Theory: Rawls, Communitarians, and Beyond

8.      Cosmopolitan Liberalism: Justifying duties to distant strangers

9.      Social Liberalism: Justifying duties to underdeveloped states

10.  Conclusion: Which way now? Realizing Global Justice

Seminars:

1.      Colonialism and Race

2.      Agents and Structure – development discourses & ideology

3.      A Resource Curse and Dead Aid?

4.      The Washington Consensus and the Global Economy

5.      State building and Democratization 

6.      Morality, Ethics and the Third World

7.      Justice in Contemporary Philosophy

8.      Cosmopolitanism and Human Rights

9.      Communitarianism and Global Duties

10.  Questioning Global Justice

Beitz, Charles,‘Cosmopolitanism and Global Justice’, The Journal of Ethics, 2005, 9, 11-27

Beitz, Charles. Political Theory and International Relations [1979], 2^nd edn. (Princeton NJ, Princeton University Press)

Brown, Chris, International Relations Theory, New Normative Approaches (Hemel Hempstead : Harvester Wheatsheaf, 1992)

Brown, Chris, Sovereignty, Rights and Justice (Cambridge:  Polity Press, 2002)

Brown, Chris, 2006. ‘From International Justice to Global Justice?’ in John S. Dryzek, Bonnie Honig and Anne Philips (gol.), The Oxford Handbook of Political Theory (Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press). 621-635

Chandler, David, Empire in Denial: The Politics of State-Building (London: Pluto Press, 2006)

Chesterman, Simon, Michael Ignatieff and Ramesh Thakur (eds.), Making States Work: State Failure and the Crisis of Governance (Tokyo, New York, Paris: United Nations University Press, 2005).

Handelman, Howard, The Challenge of Third World Development (Longman, 2011)

Landes, David, The Wealth and Poverty of Nations (New York: W.W. Norton 1998)

Ledermen, Daniel a William F. Maloney- ‘In search of the missing resource curse’ Economía - Volume 9, Number 1, Fall 2008

Miller, David, National Responsibility and Global Justice (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007).

Pogge, Thomas, World Poverty and Human Rights: Cosmopolitan Responsibilities and Reforms [2002], 2nd Edn (Cambridge, Malden MA: Polity Press, 2008).

Rawls, John,The Law of Peoples (Cambridge MA, London: Harvard University Press, 1999).

Sen, Amartya, Development as Freedom (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999)

Sen, Amartya, The Idea of Justice (London: Allen Lane, 2009) tt.324-335

Stiglitz, Joseph, Making Globalization Work: The Next Steps to Global Justice (London: Allen Lane, 2006)

Williams, Huw Lloyd, On Rawls, Development and Global Justice: The Freedom of Peoples (Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan, 2011)