Entry requirements

60 points/90 ECTS credits in political science or corresponding knowledge. "Corresponding" includes studies in social sciences with extensive and distinct elements of politics and government. Students within the Master Programme in Politics and International Studies and the Master Programme in Development Studies, admitted to the third semester, are required to have obtained at least 45 credits within the programme.

Learning outcomes

This Master's course will deal with the great challenges of our time and all times. Democracy and global society, the problems of liberty, the conflicts of morality and politics, the politics of environmental problems and climate change, and the relation between constitutionalism and democracy – all these are not only issues of empirical enquiry, but first and foremost normative problems. Normative political theory helps us articulate these problems and draw conclusions about them on the basis of normative principles. Principles are the basic reasons we deal with when searching for answers to normative questions – the foundations of reflective, rational enquiry. In short, we need normative theory when asking questions about right and wrong, be it as citizens, as civil servants, or in some other capacity. This course will thus take on the pressing questions of the time.

Content

The first part of the course addresses the method and workings of normative theory in the sense of application of fundamental principles to political and moral problems. The second part deals with global democracy, the third part addresses the challenge of liberty, the fourth takes on the role of religion and morality in public debate, the fifth is to do with justice and climate change, and the sixth part addresses the problems of constitutionalism and democracy. In the seventh part of the course, the students write a memo on a topic of their own choice, developing an argument about something that is fundamental and close to their heart.

In each part of the course, substantial comments will be given on the students’ writings. Moreover, the students will develop their oral and rhetorical skills and be given substantial feedback on their presentations.

Instruction

Lectures and seminars.

Assessment

We will assess the students’ achievements in terms of intellectual development and skills in the written memos, the final paper, and their contribution to the seminars.