Undergraduate - UnitATS3705 - Power and (in)justice in world politics

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2012 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

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6 points, SCA Band 1, 0.125 EFTSL

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered, or view unit timetables.

Level	Undergraduate
Faculty	Faculty of Arts
Offered	Not offered in 2012
Coordinator(s)	Dr Terry MacDonald

Notes

Previously coded PLT3940

Synopsis

This unit explores tensions between the moral imperatives of 'global justice', and the practical realities of international power-politics (or 'Realpolitik').
The unit examines several normative (ethical) theories of justice, which attempt to explain what citizens of different societies owe to one another in three key areas: the distribution of resources; the exercise of political power; and compensation for past wrongs.
It then analyses how the dynamics of global power-politics can undermine the pursuit of these forms of justice, and explores some institutional innovations aimed at better aligning these political dynamics with the moral imperatives of global justice.

Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to demonstrate:

An understanding of key normative (ethical) concepts and theories of global justice. These include: theories of 'distributive' justice (concerned with the just distribution of resources across the world population); theories of 'political' justice (concerned with the just and democratic exercise of political power on a global stage); and 'restorative' justice (concerned with just compensation for past wrongs, such as those associated with past war and colonization).
An understanding of the concept of 'power' in world politics, and of how the political realities of international power-politics (or 'Realpolitik') undermine the pursuit of many ideals of 'global justice' in practice.
An understanding of some key global institutions (and new institutional proposals) aimed at regulating the exercise of power in world politics to make it better comply with principles of global justice. These include institutions aimed at the following: the regulation of state power through International Organizations and International Law; the regulation and accountability of powerful private Corporations and private security companies; the regulation and accountability of International Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs); and the design of a just cosmopolitan institutional structure.
An ability to apply some normative (ethical) theoretical concepts and critical analytical methods to practical problems of global policy and institutional design.

Students successfully completing ATS3705 will be expected to demonstrate, in addition:

Enhanced skills in the formulation and development of an independent research project focused on focused on debates about justice and power in world politics.