HUMAN, SOCIAL AND POLITICAL
SCIENCES TRIPOS
Part IIB Options Booklet
Politics and International Relations
2017-18
Students must return preliminary paper choices by
Wednesday 24th May
Department of Politics and International Studies
Email: [email protected]
In this booklet you will find information on the available POLIS papers for Part
IIB of the Tripos. If you have any queries please contact your Director of Studies
in the first instance.
Table of Contents
Important information for 2017-18 …………………………………………………………………………………………………. 1
How to submit your paper choices ………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 2
Part IIB 2017-18: Paper Titles Available .................................................................................................. 3
Politics and International Relations .................................................................................................... 3
Other HSPS Subjects: Please see advice from the corresponding departments regarding these
papers. ................................................................................................................................................ 3
Paper Combinations................................................................................................................................ 5
Politics and International Relations Paper Descriptions ......................................................................... 6
POL6: Statistics and Methods in Politics and International Relations ................................................ 6
POL9: Conceptual Issues and Texts in Politics and International Relations........................................ 6
POL10: The History of Political Thought from c.1700-c.1890 ............................................................. 6
POL11: Political Philosophy & the History of Political Thought Since c.1890 ..................................... 7
POL12: The Politics of the Middle East ............................................................................................... 8
POL13: The Politics of Europe ............................................................................................................. 8
POL14: US Foreign Policy .................................................................................................................... 9
POL15: The Politics of Africa ............................................................................................................... 9
POL16: Conflict and Peacebuilding ................................................................................................... 10
POL17: The Politics of Asia ................................................................................................................ 10
POL18: Politics and Gender............................................................................................................... 11
POL19: The politics of the international economy ........................................................................... 11
POL20: The politics of the future, 1880-2080 ................................................................................... 11
History Paper 6: States between states: The history of international political thought from the
Roman Empire to the early nineteenth century (Historical Tripos).................................................. 12
HPS Paper 5: Philosophy of Science (History and Philosophy of Science Tripos) ............................. 13
HPS Paper 6: Ethics and Politics of Science, Technology and Medicine (History and Philosophy of
Science Tripos) .................................................................................................................................. 13
Economics Paper 8 History and Philosophy of Economics (Economics Tripos) ................................ 13
Administrators ...................................................................................................................................... 15
Important information for 2017-18
New paper numbers
Last year’s POL14 The Politics of Asia will become POL17 The Politics of Asia
Last year’s POL17 Politics and Gender will become POL18 Politics and Gender
POL14 is a new paper on US Foreign Policy
There are two other new papers:
POL19 The Politics of the International Economy
POL20 The Politics of the Future, 1880 – 2080
Please be careful when selecting your choices.
Choice of examination
In 2017-18, students will be able to choose between assessment by a three hour exam or
assessment by two 5000 word long essays for the following papers:
POL12: The Politics of the Middle East
POL13: The Politics of Europe
POL14: US Foreign Policy
POL15: The Politics of Africa
POL16: Conflict and Peacebuilding
POL20 will be examined by two 5000 word long essays only.
You can only pick the long essay option for one of your papers.
If you decide to do dissertation, you cannot do another paper by long essay.
POL20
POL20 The Politics of the Future, 1880 – 2080: There will be a cap of 20 students on this
paper. Students will be selected by lottery.
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How to submit the paper choices
For 2017-18 students will need to submit their paper choices online.
You will still need to discuss your choices with your Directors of Studies first and review the rest of this
guide.
This is the link to access the system:
http://www.hsps.cam.ac.uk/how-to-submit-your-paper-choices-for-the-hsps-tripos
Please do not make your choices until you have attended the Options Day.
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Part IIB 2017-18: Paper Titles Available
Politics and International Relations
POL6
POL9
POL10
POL11
POL12
POL13
POL14
POL15
POL16
POL17
POL18
POL19
POL20
Paper 6
Paper 5
Paper 6
Paper 8
Dissertation
Statistics and methods in politics and international relations
Conceptual Issues and Texts in Politics and International Relations
The History of Political Thought from c.1700-1890
Political Philosophy & the History of Political Thought since c.1890
The Politics of the Middle East (choice between three hour exam or
assessment by two 5000 word long essays)
The Politics of Europe (choice between three hour exam or assessment by
two 5000 word long essays)
US Foreign Policy (choice between three hour exam or assessment by two
5000 word long essays)
The Politics of Africa (choice between three hour exam or assessment by
two 5000 word long essays)
Conflict and Peacebuilding (choice between three hour exam or
assessment by two 5000 word long essays)
The Politics of Asia
Politics and gender
The politics of the international economy
The politics of the future, 1880-2080 (examined by two 5000 word long
essays only)
States between states: The history of international political thought from
the Roman Empire to the early nineteenth century (Historical Tripos)
Philosophy of Science (History and Philosophy of Science Tripos)
Ethics and Politics of Science, Technology and Medicine (History and
Philosophy of Science Tripos)
History and Philosophy of Economics (Economics Tripos)
Up to 10,000 words on a topic chosen by the student
Other HSPS Subjects: Please see advice from the corresponding
departments regarding these papers.
Archaeology:
ARC8
ARC10/BAN3
ARC11/BAN9
ARC12
ARC13
ARC14
ARC16
ARC17
ARC19
ARC21
Archaeological science I
Human Evolution and Palaeolithic Archaeology
Special topics in Palaeolithic Archaeology and Human Evolution
European prehistory
Special topics in European prehistory
Aegean prehistory (Paper D1 of the Classical Tripos)
The poetics of classical art (Paper D3 of the Classical Tripos)
Roman cities (Paper D4 of the Classical Tripos)
Ancient Egypt in Context: an archaeology of foreign relations
The archaeology of death and burial in ancient Egypt
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ARC23
ARC24
ARC26
ARC27
ARC30
ARC31
Mesopotamian archaeology II: territorial states to empires
Mesopotamian archaeology I: literature
The North Sea in the Early Middle Ages
Europe in late Antiquity and the migration period
Ancient India II: Early historic cities of South Asia
Ancient South America
Biological Anthropology:
BAN2
Social Networks and Behavioural Ecology
BAN3/ARC10
Human Evolution and Palaeolithic Archaeology
BAN4
Theory and Practice in Biological Anthropology
BAN6
Evolution within our Species
BAN7
Culture and Behaviour
BAN8
Health and Disease
BAN9/ARC11
Special Topics in Palaeolithic Archaeology and Human Evolution
Social Anthropology:
SAN8
Anthropology and Development
SAN11
Anthropology of Media and Visual Culture
SAN12
Anthropology of Cities and Space
Sociology:
SOC6
SOC7
SOC8
SOC9
SOC10
SOC11
SOC12
SOC13
SOC14
SOC15
Advanced social theory
Media, culture and society
Revolution, war and militarism
Modern capitalism
Gender
Racism, race and ethnicity
Modern Britain
Health, medicine and society
The Sociology of education
Criminology, sentencing and the penal system
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Paper Combinations
Paper choice rules for Part IIB Politics and International Relations track:
(i) POL9;
(ii)two papers chosen from POL10–201, one of which may be substituted by a dissertation on
a subject approved by the Head of the Department of Politics and International Studies, which
shall be submitted in accordance with the provisions of Regulation 20;
(iii)either one paper chosen from ARC8–33, BAN2–9, SAN7–132, SOC6–153, Paper 5 or Paper 6
for the subject History and Philosophy of Science in Part II of the Natural Sciences Tripos,
Paper 6 borrowed from Part II of the Historical Tripos, or Paper 8 borrowed from Part II of the
Economics Tripos or a further paper chosen from POL6, POL10–204.
(iv)a candidate who chooses any of POL12-16 under (ii) or (iii), and who does not offer a
dissertation, may offer two essays in place of one of those papers, in accordance with the
provisions of Regulation 16.
(v)a candidate who chooses POL20 under (ii) or (iii) may not offer a dissertation
Paper choice rules for Part IIB Politics and Sociology joint track:
(i)two papers chosen from POL6, POL10–205;
(ii)two papers chosen from SOC5–156;
(iii)a candidate may substitute for one paper a dissertation on a subject approved by the Head
of the Department of Politics and International Studies, which shall be submitted in
accordance with the provisions of Regulation 20.
(iv)a candidate who chooses any of POL12-16 under (i), and who does not offer a dissertation,
may offer two essays in place of one of those papers, in accordance with the provisions of
Regulation 16
(v)a candidate who chooses POL20 under (i) may not offer a dissertation
Students will have chosen a track in their second year. They are not permitted to switch tracks
between Part IIA and Part IIB unless they switch from a joint track to a single track (for
example: Pol/Soc Part IIA to PolIR Part IIB).
Paper POL10 cannot be taken if POL8 was taken in Part IIa
Candidates can only choose any individual paper from the range of papers SAN7-13 that they did not take in
Part IIa
3 Paper SOC6 can only be taken if SOC2 was taken at Part IIa
4 Paper POL10 cannot be taken if POL8 was taken in Part IIa
5 Paper POL10 cannot be taken if POL8 was taken in Part IIa
6 Paper SOC5 cannot be taken if a candidate is also taking POL6
1
2
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Politics and International Relations Paper Descriptions
POL6: Statistics and Methods in Politics and International Relations
This paper introduces students to statistical methods used in the social sciences, illustrates how these
methods can be used to study important political issues, and gives students hands-on experience on
using these methods and writing up the results of empirical quantitative research. The first module
covers statistical methods such as descriptive statistics, bivariate correlation, multivariate linear
regression, and logistic regression. These methods are illustrated through examples from sociological
and political research. The second module revisits some of the statistical techniques covered in
Michaelmas term, introduces some further techniques, and applies all of these to political questions
and datasets. This paper will give students useful skills for conducting social science research, which
are also essential for various career options in the public and private sector.
Selected readings:
Michael Blastland and Andrew Dilnot, 'The numbers game: statistics and politics', Open Democracy
(8 Oct 2007) (https://www.opendemocracy.net/article/the_numbers_game_statistics_and_politics)
Peter John, 'Quantitative methods', in D. Marsh and G. Stoker (eds), Theory and methods in political
science (3rd ed) (Palgrave, 2010) [Chapter 13]
Roger Tarling, Statistical modelling for social researchers: Principles and practice (Routledge, 2009)
[esp. Chapters 1 and 2]
POL9: Conceptual Issues and Texts in Politics and International
Relations
This is solely an examination paper. Candidates are required to answer one question from a choice of
ten: five inviting discussion of an unseen and unattributed text in politics or international relations,
and five inviting answers to general questions. POL9 gives candidates the opportunity to think about
different kinds of general questions in politics and international relations, and to use the knowledge
and understanding they have acquired to reflect on these and develop arguments of their own at
length. The paper is set to avoid advantaging or disadvantaging any particular choice of papers
elsewhere in Part II. Some questions can be answered from a knowledge of political thought, some
from a knowledge of international or domestic politics; most will encourage candidates to connect the
two. There are classes for the paper in the Lent term.
POL10: The History of Political Thought from c.1700-c.1890
Beginning with the Enlightenment and extending from the American and French revolutions to the
wave of revolutions in 1848 and the challenge of capitalism in the thought of Karl Marx, this paper
explains the formation of the fundamental concepts of modern politics. The line between the sacred
and the civil, the relation between liberty and commerce, the transformations in the principles of
political legitimacy which led to the notion of the modern representative republic, the nineteenthcentury rise of the idea of the nation-states and nationalism, the modern concept of empire, the
demand for gender equality: all these and more form the content of this paper.
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Selected readings: ed. Sylvana Tomaselli , Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of
Woman in A Vindication of the Rights of Men and A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, (Cambridge,
1995).
István Hont, Politics in Commercial Society: Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Adam Smith (Cambridge,
Mass., 2015).
POL11: Political Philosophy & the History of Political Thought Since
c.1890
This paper explores the central texts and key ideas of twentieth and twenty-first century political
thought, looking at both analytical concepts and historical context. It provides the opportunity to
trace the development of political ideas into the twentieth century and into contemporary political
philosophy. This includes many ideas that students will have encountered in other contexts – freedom,
democracy, revolution, equality, international relations and global justice – as well as some ideas that
may be new or less familiar – for instance, ecology, punishment or welfare. It also provides an
opportunity to explore the history of political thought and political philosophy more generally and to
consider what studying politics historically or theoretically brings to our understanding of politics in
practice.
The paper is divided into two parts, Section A covering a number of historical topics, Section B a variety
of themes in contemporary political philosophy. It is possible to concentrate on one side or other of
the paper, but students will be required to answer at least one question from each section. Like the
earlier History of Political Thought Papers, Section A encourages the contextual study of key political
texts and debates. This section introduces students to important thinkers such as Nietzsche, Weber,
Hayek or Rawls; to developments in the Marxist and liberal traditions of political thought; and to
significant political debates, such as those accompanying the crisis of the Weimar Republic, or the
emergence of American political science. Section B introduces students to themes in contemporary
political philosophy. Through the study of such themes such as, for example, post-colonialism,
property, sovereignty and obligation, students can explore how modern philosophical arguments can
be simultaneously engaged both as a normative dialogue with a range of contemporary and classic
texts, as well as being seen to emerge as historically specific claims about politics and political ideas
in their own right, since c. 1890.
So this is a varied paper that offers a chance to explore some familiar ideas in more detail or in more
contemporary contexts; to encounter new ideas; and to reflect on what political philosophy means
for the study of politics in the round.
Introductory readings:
For Section A) T. Ball and R. Bellamy (eds.) The Cambridge History of Twentieth-Century Political
Thought (Cambridge, 2003) [available at www.histories.cambridge.org]
For Section B) W. Kymlicka, Contemporary Political Philosophy: An Introduction 2nd ed. (Oxford
2001).
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POL12: The Politics of the Middle East
This paper, on the politics and international relations of the modern Middle East and contemporary
Islam, is based around three sets of themes. The first section explores the nature and causes of
political change in the Middle East, with a focus on understanding and critically examining the
literature on state formation, democratisation, and political economy. The second section is on the
development and character of political Islam, looking at the both Sunni and Shia Islamism, and
exploring how and why certain forms of Islamism have become heavily associated with violence. The
third section is on security and international relations, developing an approach to understanding the
Arab-Israeli conflict, the politics of the Persian Gulf, and the force and limits of external influence in
the region. The first and third sections cover the Arab states, Iran, Israel and Turkey, while the second
section also looks beyond the Middle East to Islamist groups in Europe and elsewhere. In addition,
there will be sets of lectures and seminars focusing on the politics of specific themes of present-day
relevance, such as on Turkish politics and regional policy, and the ongoing refugee crisis. The paper
builds upon the POL4 option on Iran and Egypt, and knowledge of those two countries is presupposed
in the teaching. Those who did not study this option will be at a disadvantage if they take this paper.
Selected readings:
Eugene Rogan, The Arabs: A History (London: Penguin, 2nd edition, 2012)
Asef Bayat, Life as Politics: How Ordinary People Change the Middle East (Amsterdam: Amsterdam
University Press, 2010)
POL13: The Politics of Europe
European politics has always been a vibrant subject, and has been in considerable flux in recent years.
In fact, the word ‘crisis’ is frequently used to describe various aspects of European politics – from the
‘crisis of the post-war settlement’ and the ‘crisis of the welfare state’ to the ‘crisis of political parties’,
the ‘Eurozone crisis’, and the ‘migration crisis’. Most recently, the UK’s vote to leave the European
Union has raised profound questions about the relationship between Britain and continental Europe,
the effectiveness of the UK’s political institutions, and the long-term prospects of the EU itself.
POL13 examines these questions through two modules, one on British Politics and one on European
Integration: the exam will be an undivided paper, so students can specialize in one module or study
them in combination. The British Politics module explores political developments in the UK since 1945,
including the rise of Thatcherism and New Labour, devolution and constitutional reform, economic
and social policy, and changes in electoral behaviour up to the 2015 general election. The Politics of
the European Union module examines key aspects of the process of European integration, such as the
nature of the European Union, the distribution of power within (and political mobilisation against) the
EU, monetary integration and its problems, EU enlargement, and the EU’s role in international affairs.
The paper will enable students to engage critically with the scholarly literature in these fields and to
develop a comparative and historical perspective on British and European politics.
Selected readings:
Tony Judt, Postwar: A History of Europe since 1945 (London: Pimlico, 2005)
Peter Hennessy, The Prime Minister: The Office and its Holders since 1945 (London: Allen Lane, 2000)
Geoffrey Evans and James Tilley, The New Politics of Class: The Political Exclusion of the British
Working Class (Oxford: OUP, 2017)
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Desmond Dinan, Ever Closer Union: An Introduction to European Integration (fourth edition,
Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010)
Julie Smith, The UK’s Journeys In and Out of the EU: Destinations Unknown (London: Routledge,
2017)
POL14: US Foreign Policy
The factors which shape U.S. foreign policy are of concern to people around the globe. This paper is
designed to develop students’ understanding of these factors, both historically and in their present
state. It will familiarize students with important literature and debates on the intellectual and cultural
foundations of U.S. foreign policy, including anti-statism, liberalism, and the illiberal assumptions used
to legitimize continental and, eventually, hemispheric domination. It will address the development of
American political institutions and their involvement in foreign affairs. It will examine significant
aspects of U.S. foreign policy towards different regions of the world, especially since 1945. The role
the U.S. plays vis-à-vis five pertinent contemporary issues will be discussed: nuclear weapons,
terrorism, climate change, the global economy, and international law.
Lastly, the paper will cover debates over the nature and consequences of U.S. power and the potential
decline of the U.S. relative to other states.
Selected readings:
Stephen G. Brooks and William C. Wohlforth, America Abroad: The United States’ Global Role in the
21st Century (Oxford University Press, 2016)
Amy Zegart, Flawed by Design: The Evolution of the CIA, JCS, and NSC (Stanford University Press,
1999)
POL15: The Politics of Africa
This paper explores the interaction of local and international factors that have influenced social,
economic and political trajectories in Africa. It encourages students to consider how the study of Africa
– and indeed all of the formerly colonised world – can challenge ways of thinking about politics that
have been grounded primarily in the western experience, as well as how discourses on 'Africa' relate
to the economic, strategic and ideological projects of those who shape and deploy them. While the
course is taught thematically, students develop case study knowledge of the diverse range of African
countries' experiences through essays and seminars.
The paper begins with an overview of the history of state formation on the continent, looking at
precolonial and colonial systems of rule, the ideologies and strategies of anti-colonial struggle, and
their legacies in post-independence politics. It goes on to consider practices and ideas of political
authority, mobilisation and legitimacy in independent Africa, and how these relate to different forms
of political participation and domination, order and disorder: one-party rule, multiparty democracy,
popular protest and armed conflict.
Another main theme in the paper is Africa’s place in the world order, through the Cold War era to the
present era. Recent western discourses on Africa have been dominated by the ideologies and practices
of 'international development, security, human rights and peacebuilding', alongside attempts to
promote liberal states, economic policies, polities, societies and individual subjectivities. The paper
considers the aims and limits of these projects, African resistance to and negotiation with them, and
how African states’ international relations may change with the emergence of China as an economic
power and the possibility of south-south connections.
Selecting readings:
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Fanon, Franz, The Wretched of the Earth (Penguin, 1961).
Mamdani, Mahmood, Citizen and Subject: Contemporary Africa and the Legacy of Late Colonialism
(Princeton University Press, 1996).
Harrison, Graham, Issues in the Contemporary Politics of Sub-Saharan Africa, (Palgrave, 2002).
Clapham, Christopher, Africa and the International System: The Politics of State Survival (Cambridge
University Press, 1996).
Ekeh, Peter, Colonialism and the Two Publics in Africa (Comparative Studies in History and Society
17.1, 1975).
Ake, Claude, Democracy and Development in Africa (Brookings Institution, 1996).
Ferguson, James, Global Shadows: Africa in the Neoliberal World Order (Duke University Press, 2006).
POL16: Conflict and Peacebuilding
This paper explores issues of conflict and peacebuilding in contemporary international politics, with a
particular focus on conflict in developing countries. It considers competing theories and claims about
the causes of conflict and the relationship between conflict, development, and other international
processes. It analyses the range of responses to conflict and how they are justified, and also focuses
on contests over the meanings and practices of peacebuilding. The possibilities and limitations of
international institutions, including the United Nations, in ending conflict and maintaining peace are
highlighted throughout the paper. The paper will include at least two detailed case studies (countries/
regions to be confirmed). Part of the paper will be taught collaboratively with the University of
California-Berkeley, the University of Tokyo, and the National University of Singapore, and for students
choosing assessment by two long essays, there will be on-line international assignments and
discussions in Michaelmas term.
Selected readings:
David Keen, Complex Emergencies (London: Polity, 2007)
Arturo Escobar, Encountering Development: The Making and Unmaking of the Third
World (Princeton University Press, 1985). http://search.lib.cam.ac.uk/?itemid=|eresources|113146
POL17: The Politics of Asia
This paper approaches the study of Asian politics using Southeast Asian cases to raise themes and
issues that might productively be applied across a broader geographic area, and across Asian regions.
Southeast Asia is one of the world's most diverse regions. Here we find societies that were colonized
by the British, the Dutch, the French, the Portuguese, the Spanish, and the Americans, as well as one
that escaped direct colonization; that have been deeply influenced by Buddhism, Confucianism,
Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam; that range from the world's most impoverished to the wealthiest;
and that in the past century, in addition to colonial regimes, have been ruled by absolute monarchs,
'sultanistic' dictators, military juntas, Communist parties, and a number of more or less democratically
elected governments. The paper is divided into two streams. The first focuses on the dynamics of
democratization in Southeast Asia. In Michaelmas term it surveys the political, cultural, social,
economic, institutional, and international factors that have fostered or obstructed the development
and consolidation of democratic forms of government in Southeast Asia. In Lent term it offers students
an opportunity to explore the politics of Burma/Myanmar and Thailand in particular depth. A second
stream, given in Lent term, focuses on the politics and genealogies of race and religion in South and
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Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, India and Pakistan), focusing upon: colonial
formulations of race and religion, nationalism and state formation, law and litigation, and new
religious movements. No prior knowledge of the region is assumed.
POL18: Politics and Gender
Human security, liberty, political voice, economic status, education, health, freedom of expression,
access to markets and public spaces as well as institutional behaviour are all fundamentally shaped by
gender. This paper aims to introduce students to the various ways in which different understandings
of gender impact on contemporary political debates. Lectures will be structured by six themes:
Political Representation, Rights, Inequality, Conflict and Violence, Social Movements and Radical
Politics and finally Power and the Body.
POL19: The politics of the international economy
This paper looks at modern politics in the context of the international economy. It considers the
political opportunities and the political constraints that participation in different kinds of international
economies create in different circumstances. It tries to put today's debates about the nature of the
international economy and its implications for modern politics in a historical context and to use that
historical understanding of both the arguments about economic life and the decisions governments
have made about how to deal with international economic questions and the political reactions those
decisions induce to illuminate different aspects of the domestic and international politics of a wide
range of modern nation-states today.
POL20: The politics of the future, 1880-2080
At least since Plato, thinkers in the Western tradition have sought to imagine better worlds. The most
famous texts in this tradition include Plato’s Republic and Thomas More’s Utopia, the latter of which
gave this style of thinking a name. This course explores the modern utopian tradition, which originates
in the late nineteenth century. We will study accounts of the future produced in Britain and North
America from the 1880s to the present. Combining work in political theory, intellectual history, and
speculative literature, the course will examine both utopian and dystopian visions. To do so, we will
read a sample of important utopian/dystopian speculative writings – from William Morris and H.G
Wells to Margaret Atwood and William Gibson – as well as theoretical literature on the nature and
value of utopian thinking.
The course will proceeds in a broadly chronological fashion. It is divided into 3 broad periods: 18901925; 1925-1970; 1970-the present.
Each will concentrate on two main themes (though it is important to recognise that these are
cumulative, each building on the previous sections). Section I will trace the intellectual and imaginative
impact of Darwinism and debates over possible socialist societies. Section II will focus on attempts to
make sense of totalitarianism and nuclear war.
Section III turns to the potential of bio-technological transformation and of environmental
catastrophe. Our aim is to discuss three broad themes: how writers – whether novelists, philosophers
or public intellectuals – (1) imagined alternative social, political, and economic structures; (2)
reimagined the self in relation to new technologies and forms of political association; and (3) debated
the possibilities and the value of thinking about the future. The course is not intended to be an
exhaustive survey of modern utopianism; rather, the aim is to identify and explore the most significant
foci for writing and thinking about the future.
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Please note that this course will be capped at 20 students.
Paper 6: States between states: The history of international political
thought from the Roman Empire to the early nineteenth century
(Historical Tripos)
Please note that a cap of 3 students will be imposed on this paper, the successful students will be
chosen in a random draw from all the students that have selected this option. As this paper cannot be
guaranteed please select a second option on your form.
What is the ‘political’ in the history of political thought? In his Politics, the Greek philosopher Aristotle
understood ta politika – the ‘political things’, politics, of his title – to be those things that concern the
polis, the city-state that was the central unit of (precisely) political organisation in ancient Greece. This
covered everything from the motivation and rationale of the polis, its constitutional structure, who
qualified for citizenship, the nature of its government, to political safety strategies on the one hand
and musical education on the other. At its base it involved a narrative about human beings forming
into a political community for ends that cannot otherwise be achieved. This narrative, in multiple
permutations, has been central to the tradition of Western political thought, and its focus is primarily
on the relationship of citizens to fellow-citizens, and citizens to government, within one political unit,
what we call ‘the state’. And yet, even in Aristotle’s Politics it is clear that the polis does not exist in
isolation. The lives of its citizens demand slaves, who need to be ‘hunted’ abroad. Thus the polis must
stretch out into space beyond itself. And it needs goods, which means merchants living within it who
are nevertheless not part of it, not citizens. Thus the outside comes in. These inside/outside relations
impact on the very theorisation of the polis itself, as Aristotle defines the relationships and laws
between citizens against both commercial treaties and military alliances: both of which might look
uncomfortably like political relations, but which for Aristotle’s purposes must, crucially, be excluded
as such.
The ‘global turn’ in modern political thought, just as in history, has interested itself in both of these
dimensions of inside/outside: how the state extends beyond itself into the space of others, and
conversely how that extension impacts in turn back on the state itself. From a theoretical point of
view, the concept of the ‘political’ itself is stretched and put in question. Both at the level of
government and at the level of citizenship, new spaces of politics open up, spaces that we – for a want
of vocabulary which is, precisely, part of our intellectual heritage – might call for convenience
‘international’, but which might better be labelled ‘inter-political’ or ‘trans-political’. For the
international is merely one, historically specific (and, for some, increasingly passé), way of
constructing the space between states: a word with which by now we are familiar and comfortable,
but which involves multiple assumptions and disguises dimensions of our political existence which
might be less familiar, more exciting, but also less comfortable as well.
In this paper, then, we look historically at the different ways in which this ‘international’ space has
been constructed. We begin in ancient Rome, with a word, Imperium, that of itself crosses the
inside/out divide, being both a word for ‘internal’ rule and a word for the concrete, ‘external’
extension of rule – the ‘empire’; and we end with intellectual challenges to European conceptions and
practices of empire in the early nineteenth century. Importantly, however, the intellectual history of
the ‘inter-political’ or ‘international’ is not simply the intellectual history of imperial formations.
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As the paper shows, this dimension of the history of political thought involves all sorts of ‘interpolitical’ concepts, ‘states between states’: unions, federations, confederations, composite
monarchies, leagues, alliances, friendly states, hostile states; as well as new spaces of ‘inter-political’
citizenship.
Paper 5: Philosophy of Science (History and Philosophy of Science
Tripos)
This paper considers a series of central questions in the philosophy of science, including how these
questions play out in the fields of biology and cognitive science. The sorts of questions covered include
whether we should believe that our best scientific theories are true, the role of various forms of
simplification and idealisation in science, the nature of hypothesis testing, the pretensions of science
to reveal a mind-independent reality, and issues around the alleged unity of the sciences and of
scientific method.
Paper 6: Ethics and Politics of Science, Technology and Medicine
(History and Philosophy of Science Tripos)
Science, technology and medicine play a central role in the modern world. However, there are many
on-going political and ethical controversies over the role they ought to play. These include debates
over whether, when and how, ethical and political values should shape scientific research and practice,
and over when and how scientific results and new technologies should be used. Furthermore, these
important disputes relate to more fundamental questions about the relationship between truth,
values and objectivity. The aim of this paper is to introduce students to both practical and theoretical
debates over the politics and ethics of science and to examine their inter-relationships.
Paper 8: History and Philosophy of Economics (Economics Tripos)
The paper is intended to help the students fully appreciate the strengths and weaknesses of the
economic theories contained in other courses in the Tripos. It aims to do so by teaching them: (i) the
major theoretical innovations and debates that have marked the evolution of economics (history of
economics); and (ii) the key issues involved in the assessment of different methods of economic
investigation (philosophy of economics).
At the end of the Paper, students will acquire: (i) the knowledge of the main innovations in economic
theory and how they have emerged and evolved in response to real world problems as well as to
intellectual debates; (ii) the knowledge of how economic theories have affected the world, not just by
reforming economic policies but also by changing the way people look at the world; (iii) the
understanding of relative strengths and weaknesses of different methods of investigation in
economics; (iv) the appreciation of the importance – and also the blind spots – of the economic
theories that they learn in the rest of Tripos; and (v) a more sophisticated understanding of the current
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debates in economics, based on the knowledge of the historical roots and the philosophical
underpinnings of different economic ideas.
The paper consists of 30 lectures (16 for the history of economics and 14 for the philosophy of
economics).
There will be a cap of 10 POLIS students in this paper. Interested students will be chosen in a random
draw.
Indicative Readings
Chang, H-J., Economics: The User’s Guide, ch. 4
Deane, P., The State and the Economic System: An Introduction to the History of Political Economy
Hausman, D. (ed.), The Philosophy of Economics: An Anthology
Heilbroner, R., The Worldly Philosophers
Landreth, H. and Colander, D., The History of Economic Thought
Lawson, T., Essays on the Nature and State of Modern Economics
Medema, S., The Hesitant Hand
Reiss, J., Philosophy of Economics: A Contemporary Introduction
Roncaglia, A. The Wealth of Ideas
Rodrik, D., Economics Rules: Why Economics Works, When It Fails & How to Tell the Difference.
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Administrators
If you have queries about a particular subject, or need to notify us of any changes, please
contact the relevant Administrator:
Archaeology
(3)39288
Anna O’Mahony
[email protected]
Biological Anthropology
(7)61097
Anna O’Mahony
[email protected]
Social Anthropology
(3)30908
Jenny Broadway
[email protected]
Sociology
(3)34528
Odette Rogers
[email protected]
Part I
(3)35454
Gillian Dadd
[email protected]
Faculty Teaching
Administrator
(7)69326
Barbora Sajfrtova
[email protected]
Politics and International
Relations
(7)67235
Patrycja Koziol
[email protected]
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