Summer Timetable

POL380H1F L0101

Topics in International Politics

The Politics of Sovereignty and Humanity: Military Intervention in the 21st Century

Themes

This course will examine the phenomenon of state sovereignty from the perspective of its negation: sovereign military intervention. We will focus both on the concrete history of military interventions and changes in the ideas that have animated them. In particular, we will examine humanitarian justifications for the use of force, and recent attempts to recast these justification in the broader context of world political authority and sovereignty as responsibility.

Texts

Martha Finnemore, The Purpose of Intervention; Samantha Power, A Problem from Hell; Rest TBA / blackboard

Format and Requirements

Reflection paper (20%), research paper (40%), mid-term quiz (10%), and a final examination (30%)

Prerequisites

POL208H1 or POL208Y1 or POL209H5 or POLB80H3