Description
Western ideas of governance can no longer explain modern political life. Any serious attempt to understand our current political predicaments requires us to go beyond the pool of European political thinkers, and take into account political ideas that emerged in the non-West. In this course we will engage directly with the writings of the key political thinkers from countries like China, India, Egypt, Indonesia, Ghana, and the West Indies. This course will evaluate how the universal language of modern politics – ranging from liberalism, communism, capitalism, and humanitarianism – was accommodated and altered to usher in a radical transformation that profoundly impacts our political lives today. By examining ideological innovators from Gandhi, Fanon, Mao, and Khomeini, to more secular minded nationalists like Nehru, Nasser, Nkrumah, this course will provide a fresh perspective on the making of the global political order.
Course objectives
Identify how visions of politics overlap and differ across cultures
Discuss and present contemporary debates on political ideas in a seminar setting
Relate plural notions of politics into the broader context of twenty-first century political life
Categorize divergent strands of political thought
Examine the impact of political ideas on institutions and legal systems
Appraise the political thought of a global thinker in an essay.
Timetable
Mode of instruction
Seminar
Course Load
10 EC
Assessment method
Participation: 15% of the final grade
Presentation: 15% of the final grade
Essay: 70% of the final grade
The final grade for the course is established by determining the weighted average
Reading list
A selection of the relevant articles and book chapters for each seminar will be made available through Blackboard.
Registration
See Preliminary Information
Contact
Wijnhaven, Institute of Political Science
Turfmarkt 99
2511 DP The Hague
Room number 6.04
+31 71 527 5066
a.hussain@fsw.leidenuniv.nl