This course introduces students to some contemporary debates about the state and its place in a globalizing world. We examine questions such as: what makes states legitimate? What gives them the right to hold territory and control their borders? Must states be culturally neutral, or may they promote national cultures? Then we ask questions about the external responsibilities of states. Must they respect human rights? What duties do they have to the global poor? Finally, the course examines proposals for a new international order in which state autonomy is curbed in the name of global justice and global democracy.
This course introduces students to some contemporary debates about the state and its place in a globalizing world. We examine questions such as: what makes states legitimate? What gives them the right to hold territory and control their borders? Must states be culturally neutral, or may they promote national cultures? Then we ask questions about the external responsibilities of states. Must they respect human rights? What duties do they have to the global poor? Finally, the course examines proposals for a new international order in which state autonomy is curbed in the name of global justice and global democracy.
