IREL 420: Sovereignty in Theory and Practice
Taught Fall 2013
This course explores debates over sovereignty. It asks: What is sovereignty? How is it changing in a globalized world? Who and what is and is not sovereign? And what is the relationship between violence and sovereign power? Students will become conversant in various theories of sovereignty. They will also analyze the various ways that sovereign power is exercised in the contemporary moment. Case studies explore both concrete manifestations of sovereign power, such as the exercise of state authority at international borders, and the ways that claims to sovereignty have been used to justify new kinds of political interventions in contexts such as the War on Terror.
This course explores debates over sovereignty. It asks: What is sovereignty? How is it changing in a globalized world? Who and what is and is not sovereign? And what is the relationship between violence and sovereign power? Students will become conversant in various theories of sovereignty. They will also analyze the various ways that sovereign power is exercised in the contemporary moment. Case studies explore both concrete manifestations of sovereign power, such as the exercise of state authority at international borders, and the ways that claims to sovereignty have been used to justify new kinds of political interventions in contexts such as the War on Terror.
