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Academic Year 2025/2026 - Teacher: NUNZIO ALI'

Expected Learning Outcomes

At the end of the course, students will have acquired the ability to understand the main philosophical approaches to international relations – from realism to cosmopolitanism, as well as critical, feminist, and postcolonial perspectives – and to analyze conceptually key themes such as sovereignty, power, global justice, human rights, migration, and climate justice. They will be able to apply these theoretical tools to the interpretation of contemporary political phenomena, formulating independent and well-argued judgments on the ethical and normative challenges of global politics. In addition, they will develop the communication skills needed to present their analyses in both written and oral form and will be able to conduct independent study and research, making critical use of both Italian and international scholarship.

Course Structure

The course requires the active participation of students, with the possibility of presenting the assigned material for a given session in class. In any case, the sessions will be conducted in a seminar format, and it is essential that students come to class having read the assigned material in advance.

Required Prerequisites

Basic knowledge of political theory

Attendance of Lessons

Attendance is not mandatory but highly recommended. To be included in the Teams group, please send an email specifying the name of the course.

Detailed Course Content

The course will provide students with the tools to engage with the contemporary debate on a series of issues central to international relations: from the morality in and of war, to the justice of international practices and institutions that affect economic well-being and the global environment, to the question of whether and how to regulate migratory flows, to human rights, and to the relationship between the obligations of solidarity we owe to our fellow citizens and those owed to the world’s poor. In light of the new challenges and threats that call into question international law and the practice of international relations as they have developed in the post–World War II era, the course aims to provide theoretical and critical tools to analyze their causes and to elaborate innovative strategies for a reformulation of the normative principles and values of international relations in the twenty-first century

Textbook Information

The list of required readings can be found in the course syllabus under each individual lecture.

Course Planning

	Subjects	Text References
1	Introduction: What Is the Philosophy of International Relations About?	Beitz, Charles. R. 1999. Political Theory and International Relations. With a New Afterword by the Author, Princeton University Press, pp. 11-34
2	International Relations Beyond the State of Nature	Beitz, Charles. R. 1999. Political Theory and International Relations. With a New Afterword by the Author, Princeton University Press, pp. 35-50
3	The Autonomy of the State and International Interference	Beitz, Charles. R. 1999. Political Theory and International Relations. With a New Afterword by the Author, Princeton University Press, pp. 50-66. Presentation Assignment
4	Ideal Theory and Realistic Utopia in John Rawls	Rawls, John. 2001. Il diritto dei popoli, Edizioni di Comunità, pp. 15-41
5	Realist Objections to the Ideal Approach	Sangiovanni, Andrea. 2008. Normative Political Theory: A Flight from Reality? In Political Thought and International Relations. Variations on a Realist Theme. Eds. Duncan Bell, Oxford University Press, chapter 12, pp 228-248.
6	War and International Law	Walzer, Michael. 2009. Guerre giuste e ingiuste. Un discorso morale con semplificazioni storiche. Editori Laterza, capitolo 4, pp. 65-94.
7	The Case for Humanitarian Intervention	Wheeler, Nicholas J. 2002. Saving Strangers: Humanitarian Intervention in International Society. Orford University Press, chapter 1, pp. 21-52
8	Human Rights and the Centrality of the State	Arendt, Hannah. 2009. Le origini del totalitarismo. Enaudi. Capitolo 9.
9	The Role of Human Rights in International Relations	Beitz, Charles. R. 2009. The Idea of Human Rights. Oxford University Press, capitolo 2, pp. 14-42
10	Mid-Semester Review. In-class discussion.	No new readings
11	Global Economic Justice: A Cosmopolitan Vision	Pogge, Thomas, 2010. Povertà mondiale e diritti umani. Responsabilità e riforme cosmopolite. Editori Laterza, capitolo 4, pp. 113-143
12	The Struggle Against Colonialism	Fanon, Frantz. 1962. I dannati della terra. Enaudi, capitolo 1.
13	Universalism vs. Relativism	Benhabib, Seyla. 2005. La rivendicazione dell'identità culturale. Eguaglianza e diversità nell'era globale. Il Mulino, capitolo 2.
14	The Feminist Approach to International Relations	Enloe, Cynthia. 2014. Bananas, Beaches and Bases: Making Feminist Sense of International Politics. University of California Press, capitolo 7.
15	Climate Change and Global Justice	Petroni, Lucas. 2025. “Every Climate Struggle is a Political Struggle: New Trends in Climate Justice”. Brazilian Political Science Review, 19 (2) e0005, pp. 1-26
16	Citizenship and Immigration	Carens, Joseph. 2023. Cosmopolitismo e immigrazione. In Democrazia, cosmopolitismo e Migrazioni, a cura di Flavia Monceri e Roberta Picardi, capitolo 1, pp. 10-40.
17	The European Union Between Confederation and Federation	Habermas, Jürgen e Wolfgang Streeck. 2020. Oltre l'austerità. Disputa sull’Europa. Castelvecchi, seconda parte
18	The Israeli–Palestinian Conflict	- Sartre, Jean-Paul. 2015. L'antisemitismo. Riflessioni sulla questione ebraica. Editore SE, capitolo 1 - Pappé, Ilan, 2025. La fine di Israele.Il collasso del sionismo e la pace possibile in Palestina. Fazi Editore. Prima parte.

Learning Assessment

Learning Assessment Procedures

The final grade will be determined on the basis of two main components of student performance: class participation and the final exam. Students who are unable to attend classes and therefore to participate actively will have their grade based entirely on the oral exam. As for the possibility of organizing student presentations (20–30 minutes focusing on the central arguments of the assigned reading and offering critical observations), this will be discussed during the first sessions in order to identify the format most appropriate to the background of the participants. Should this option be adopted, the final grade will also take into account the evaluation of the presentations delivered by attending students.

In Italy, examination results are expressed on a scale from 18/30 (minimum pass) to 30/30 (maximum). The highest grade may be awarded with “lode” (cum laude), reserved for outstanding performance. There is no direct equivalence with percentages, but the system can be understood as ranging from “sufficient” to “excellent,” with an additional level of distinction.

Fail (0–17): The student does not demonstrate adequate knowledge of the basic course content and/or has not completed the required work.

18–20 (Pass – Sufficient): Minimal knowledge of the subject; very limited ability to apply concepts; significant difficulty in critical discussion.

21–24 (Fair – Discrete): Adequate command of course topics; correct but basic exposition; frequent need for guidance.

25–27 (Good): Solid knowledge of the subject; ability to handle cases and assignments independently, with only minor inaccuracies.

28–30 (Very Good – Excellent): Comprehensive and in-depth knowledge; autonomous ability to make connections between themes and sources; clear exposition with no significant errors.

30 cum laude (Distinction): Exceptional performance, marked by originality, critical insight, and virtually complete mastery of the subject.

Examples of frequently asked questions and / or exercises

1. Realism and Ideal Theory: What are the main realist arguments against the ideal theory approach in international relations, and to what extent do these critiques challenge the possibility of a normative philosophy of global politics?

2. Human Rights: What role does the state play in Hannah Arendt’s conception of human rights?

3. Global Justice: Describe the main elements of Thomas Pogge’s cosmopolitan perspective on the problem of global economic justice.

4. Just War and Humanitarian Intervention: In what ways does Michael Walzer’s theory of “just war” differ from contemporary justifications of humanitarian intervention, such as those advanced by Nicholas Wheeler?

5. Contemporary Challenges: What are the main normative dilemmas posed by climate change or global migration, and how do different philosophical theories of international relations attempt to address them?

Degree Course in

International Relations