Pol 203 Contemporary Political Theories
Contemporary Political Theories
Class hours: 42
Credits (ECTS): 6
LM-SP – Specializations in Governance of Commons and in Fraternity in the Res Publica
Year: 1st
Terms: 3rd–4th
Course held in Italian
The course offers a critical introduction to the theory of democracy in the twenthy century. It engages with the subject along two lines. The first is a historical reconstruction of the principal concepts: liberty and equality (Kelsen and Dahl); power and conflict (Weber, Lukes, Foucault); elite e oligarchies (Le Bon, Sighele, Mosca, Pareto, Michels, Wright Mills); fair and social justice (Rawls, Nozick, Sandel); the discursive theory (Habermas). The second consists of an analysis of the current challenges of democracy and the perspective of a cosmopolitan democracy.
Bibliographical references:
- KELSEN H., Vom Wesen und Wert der Demokratie, J.C.B Mohr, Tübingen, 1929; eng.: The Essence and Value of Democracy, Rowman & Littlefield, 2013; tr.it., Essenza e valore della democrazia, in H. Kelsen, La democrazia, il Mulino, Bologna, 2010.
- DAHL R.A., On Political Equality, Yale University Press, New Haven, 2006; tr. it., Sull’uguaglianza politica, Laterza, Roma-Bari, 2007.
- LUKES S., Power. A Radical View, Palgrave, London, 2005; tr.it., Potere. Una visione radicale, Vita e Pensiero, Milano, 2007.
- ARCHIBUGI D., The Global Commonwealth of Citizens. Toward cosmopolitan Democracy, Princeton University Press, Princeton, 2015; tr.it., Cittadini del mondo. Verso una democrazia cosmopolitica, il Saggiatore, Milano, 2008.
Professor Alberto Lo Presti
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