Political Science 371, Fall 2009

Portland State University

David Kinsella

Office: Urban Center, room 650K

Phone: 503.725.3035   E-mail: kinsella@pdx.edu

Office Hours: MW 11:30-12:30

Description

When states or other human groupings abandon less primitive means of resolving their conflicts, they resort to war. Although many wars have been terribly bloody and destructive, history provides relatively few examples of wars of total annihilation. Rather, for reasons involving both self-interest and ethical conviction, political leaders and warriors have often observed limits in their resort to war and the conduct of battle. This course examines the historical, moral, and legal foundations of these limits, and their enduring relevance despite ongoing changes in world politics and the transformation of modern warfare.

Although we consider alternative perspectives, the course focuses primarily on the just war tradition, major elements of which are reflected in international law governing the legitimate resort to force and proper conduct during wartime. Topics include aggression and self-defense, genocide, humanitarian intervention, nuclear deterrence, noncombatant immunity, terrorism, treatment of prisoners, torture, and prosecution of war criminals. Discussion of these topics is informed by contemporary just war thinking as well as classical political and moral philosophy.

Learning Objectives

• demonstrate mastery of the main theoretical and philosophical approaches to the ethics of warfare;
• identify the multiple ethical issues presented by specific historical and contemporary examples of war and intervention;
• apply relevant moral and legal principles when examining and evaluating ethical issues; and
• evaluate the role of moral discourse in current debates over the use of military force as an instrument of foreign policy.

Readings

Assigned readings come from a collection edited for this course:

• David Kinsella and Craig L. Carr, editors, The Morality of War: A Reader (Lynne Rienner, 2007)

In addition to the assigned readings, students should be reading, on a regular basis, the New York Times, the Washington Post, or some other newspaper with thorough international coverage. Performance in the course will reflect familiarity with current international issues, and not just an understanding of lecture material and course readings.

Requirements and Evaluation

Course grades will reflect the degree to which students have met the learning objectives of the course, and are based on a midterm (40%) and final exam (60%). The exams will consist of questions requiring both short answers and longer essays. Attendance is required; course grades will be adversely affected by excessive absence from class.

COURSE CALENDAR AND READING ASSIGNMENTS