Special Topics in Political Science (390-0-22)
Topic
Integrity and the Politics of Corruption
Instructors
Shmuel Nili
Scott Hall, Room 20
Office Hours: http://www.polisci.northwestern.edu/people/core-faculty/shmulik-nili.html
Meeting Info
Scott Hall 107 Burdick Room: Mon, Wed 11:00AM - 12:20PM
Overview of class
If all seasoned politicians in a fragile democracy are implicated in wide-scale corruption, but if the country is facing an acute economic crisis requiring experience at the helm, what ought to be done about the corrupt, and who ought to decide? What compromises, if any, are appropriate when considering kleptocrats who are effectively holding their people hostage - for instance, rulers who systematically abuse loans from foreign creditors, but who rely on the fact that their vulnerable population will suffer if loans are cut off entirely? What compromises, if any, are morally appropriate when dealing with dictators who threaten to unleash violence unless they are guaranteed an amnesty by the democratic forces trying to replace them? This upper-level course delves into such fraught political problems, revolving around different kinds of corruption and abuse of political power. In order to grapple with these problems, we examine in detail two moral ideas related to "the people." The first is the idea of the sovereign people as the owner of public property, often stolen by corrupt politicians. The second is the idea of the people as an agent with its own moral integrity - an integrity that might bear on intricate policy dilemmas surrounding the proper response to corruption. In the process of examining both of these ideas, students will acquire familiarity with prominent philosophical treatments of integrity, property, and - more generally - public policy.
Registration Requirements
This course is open to undergraduate and graduate students. Graduate students will have additional paper requirements.
Learning Objectives
Students will acquire familiarity with prominent philosophical treatments of integrity, property, and - more generally - public policy.
Evaluation Method
- Active participation (50 percent)
- 1500 words paper initiating class discussion in one session
- Expanded version of short paper
Class Materials (Required)
Shmuel Nili, The people's duty (Cambridge University Press, 2019), ISBN 9781108480925