[ Wesleyan Home Page ] [ WesMaps Home Page ] [ Course Search ] [ Course Search by CID ]

Justice and War
GOVT349 FA

This course will center on the following question: what weight can and should be given to considerations of justice or morality in war policy decision-making? We will first examine various treatments of this question from the so-called "realist", "neo-realist", "just war" and "idealist" traditions. Closely related issues will be taken up as well: should states be held to the same general standards of morality as individuals? Is the content of the applicable standards historically and culturally relative? The second part of the course will consider the "democratic peace" thesis -- the view because democracies do not go to war with each other. But is this a historically accurate description of their behavior? If so, what causes their relative peacefulness? The last segment of the course will bring together the first two parts by considering significant portions or Thucydides' HISTORY OF THE PELOPNNESIAN WAR. Thucydides' work contains a rich treatment of the theme of justice and war, and it r ecounts the Athenian aggression against the democratic city of Syracuse, an event that seems to give the lie to the democratic peace thesis.

MAJOR READINGS

Unless preregistered students attend the first class meeting or communicate directly with the instructor prior to the first class, they will be dropped from the class list. NOTE: Students must still submit a completed Drop/Add form to the Registrar's Office.

COURSE FORMAT: Lecture/Discussion

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Level: UGRD    Credit: 1    Gen Ed Area Dept: SBS GOVT    Grading Mode: Graded   

Prerequisites: NONE

Last Updated on JUN-21-2000

Copyright Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, 06459