There is no set agenda with this blog and I would hope that this would provide an open platform for reflection and discussion as we travel the twelve weeks allocated for this module in Semester 1.
I'm currently revising the reading list and looking at the range of electronic resources available to support the module. I'm trying to strike the right balance between exploring issues of ethics from a case study perspective (e.g. Julian Assange, Chelsea Manning, the politics of torture) and emphasising traditional ethical perspectives that are associated with the study of ethics in an applied setting (e.g. utilitarianism, virtue ethics, exceptionalism).
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| Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) |
There are theoretical questions I must confront as I attempt to map our revised curriculum for Ethics and International Relations this year: Can you understand 'ethics' without examining the historical foundations of ethical theories? Is there a danger of focussing exclusively on Western political ethics and thereby neglecting the potential for different spaces for ethical thinking within international?
Ethics is a form of political discourse and this module aims to explore the both the promise (and limits) of ethics within contemporary international relations.
We will struggle to avoid mentioning the 'R' word but if we do find ourselves invoking questions of realism (and realpolitick) we should aim to do so with critical distance from clichéd understandings of international theory. Realists do not have a monopoly on defining the state of play within international relations and this module aims to challenge you to think about how the world is and well as how the world ought to be.
There are also pedagogical questions I must confront as I think about how to aim this module at students in their final year of undergraduate studies. You already have a vast knowledge of the wrongs within the international system and these are evident in the diverse set of topics you have chosen to complete your final year dissertation on.A simple lecture and seminar format may actually prevent you from thinking dynamically about the placement of ethics within international politics. Reading is so important to any module you take in an academic subject and you will understand the underlying philosophical assumptions of ethics more sharply if this is backed up with substantive engagement with the literature in international ethics.
Nonetheless, an 'open mind' will be invaluable in getting you to think about the role of ethics within international relations. There will be academic readings (from Aristotle to Jeremy Bentham to Peter Singer) but if you don't think about the implications of these readings then you will not have subjected ethical theories to closer scrutiny. Scepticism is an important intellectual quality (although do note that cynicism is different from scepticism).
During the seminars there will be moments when you will need to leave the traditional seminar room (both physically and intellectually) to enable you to credibly test the ethical questions we are exploring that week. You will be asked to talk with your fellow students, to your friends, and your family about the structure of ethical thought within international politics. The way we structure the seminars as research institutes or think tanks will provide us with an opportunity to contribute to the broader debate about ethics within an international setting.
Please watch this space as I am map out a twelve week guide for Ethics in International Relations. Your input is valuable and valued, so please do feel free to engage with me as I do this.
Dr Thomas Moore
Module Leader for Ethics and International Relations
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