Description
This seminar is about what it takes to lead a state in the present age. In its essence it presupposes a thorough understanding of both the nature of the state, and the state of nature. While most of political thinking is still based on social contract theories, which maintain that the state of nature disappears as soon as civil society is established, in fact the two operate in tandem, simultaneously. Under the layer of veneer that civil society is, with its framework for moral and political rules of behaviour, the state of nature is always there. Statecraft is about seeing both; about understanding why Kant’s belief in ‘perpetual peace’ and Hobbes’ famous phrase of ‘the war of all against all’ are equally one-sided. Statecraft is the Master Science explaining how everything comes together. Statecraft is about knowing the rules that govern this complex reality, and how to apply these rules.
To be more precise, this seminar is about statesmanship, which is called for in the world we are living in now. It is designed for men and women who want to study what it takes to be a visionary and transformative leader at the head of the state. It is for those who want to write about it (or about the lack of it), as political scientists, political commentators or journalists; for those who want to advise political leadership, as civil servants; and for those who have political aspirations themselves, regardless of whether they will ever assume the highest public offices, let alone if history will grant them the epitheton of a statesman. That is not the point. In any field you always aim at the best. For Plato this was an ideal: the ‘Philosopher-King’. We will treat the subject in both theoretical and practical terms, much in the vain of Erasmus, offering advice to the ‘Good Prince’.
On a theoretical level, this seminar will introduce students to two thinkers – Grotius and Spinoza – whose theories, it is demonstrated, offer the best explanatory fit. They constitute the pillars of what the instructor calls the Dutch tradition in International Relations Theory. On a practical level, we will look at some great examples of statesmanship and learn lessons from it. Finally, we will also study principles of communication and persuasion, and hone skills to apply those principles.
Course objectives
Know how the Sciences inform the Arts, but also how the Arts can inform the Sciences.
Know the Great Debates in IR, and how theories can inform statecraft, if only partially.
Have a deep understanding of what Grotius and Spinoza learn us about statecraft.
Understand how the geometrical method they applied, can be updated and used now.
See how hermeneutics and heuristics give insights for solving complex problems.
Know how the domestic analogy of states and persons can be used, and what it brings.
See how the master principle of Public International Law (‘non-intervention’) evolves.
Know what rules govern the state of nature.
Know the essence of Communication and Persuasion as taught at Harvard’s Kennedy School.
Seek to find your voice.
Mode of instruction
Seminar. As a definition this is a combination of lectures, class discussions, and presentations. Attendance is essential, if not mandatory. The only way to pass the examination is by attending classes and by participating in discussions. There is no other way to master the subject. While AI is a repository of old thinking, it cannot help students to ‘see’ what is called for in statecraft, which also involves new thinking. The instructor will acquaint students with a vast body of literature, but he will also show the way to develop new thinking oneself.
Tutorial. The instructor invites students to make use of him as a tutor during office hours on Tuesdays. As Deputy Secretary General of the Dutch Senate, he has been an ‘eyewitness to power’ for almost 10 years, and he has worked another 15 years in other public sector positions. He can advise students who want to enter the civil service. Currently being the Executive Director of the Fulbright Commission the Netherlands, he can also advise students who want to pursue study or research in the United States, and want to apply for scholarships.
Assessment method
Class participation (20%)
Written assignments (20%)
Presentation (20%)
Final in-class examination (40%)
Reading list
Book chapters and journal articles. The full list of readings will be available in the syllabus of the course.
Registration
See ‘Practical Information’.
Timetable
See ‘MyTimetable’.