Global Justice & Human Rights in an International Order

Course Code: PUBLG007

Course Tutor: Dr Saladin Meckled-Garcia (Department of Political Science)

Assessment: One 3,000 word essay

Credit Value: 15

About this course

Some of the most prominent liberal political philosophers have argued that we owe each other less as members of the global community than what we do as members of local, or national, communities. Justifications for this kind of view have a long and varied history and the course will seek to examine their cogency against the body of theories which style themselves cosmopolitan, meaning they do not make a principled local-global distinction in matters of justice. Clarity on these questions will be essential in approaching the concept of human rights as valid moral claims.

This half unit course will cover the basic moral theory behind human rights, and examine the policy ramifications of adopting any one view on the proper extent of human rights based duties. Much focus will be placed on students developing critical skills in analysing and evaluating different theories of international justice, including those found in contemporary works by John Rawls, Charles Beitz and Henry Shue.