LL307 Half Unit
Justifying Political Authority
This information is for the 2025/26 session.
Course Convenor
Prof Emmanuel Voyiakis
Availability
This course is available on the BA in Anthropology and Law, BSc in Philosophy and Economics, BSc in Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method, BSc in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, BSc in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (with a Year Abroad), BSc in Politics and Philosophy, Erasmus Reciprocal Programme of Study, Exchange Programme for Students from University of California, Berkeley and LLB in Laws. This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit. This course is freely available to General Course students. It does not require permission.
This course is capped. Places will be assigned on a first come first served basis.
Course content
States and their laws claim the right to govern us. But do they have such a right? If they do, what, if any, are the ‘red lines’ that states may not legitimately cross? Is disobedience ever justified, and what form can it take? Such questions have exercised every political philosopher from the ancient to the modern world. Our course will allow you to become familiar with, and gain a critical perspective on, some of the most interesting answers to them. The domain is vast and our time is limited, so we cannot cover every significant answer, but we will cover a fair few.
The course will allow you to become familiar with some of the main methodological, conceptual, and normative issues in the study of political obligation; encourage you to think critically about the role of consent, natural rights, autonomy, and democracy in justifying political authority; and teach you how to approach, engage with, and develop abstract, philosophical arguments. The topics that the course covers may shift a little from year-to-year, but they will likely include the following: anarchism; libertarianism; perfectionism; the consent or social contract tradition; the republican tradition; democratic theories of the state; and some particularly controversial questions, such as the justification and limits of civil disobedience, and the justification of taxation.
Teaching
20 hours of lectures and 9 hours of classes in the Autumn Term.
This course has a reading week in Week 6 of Autumn Term.
Formative assessment
Essay
Students will be expected to write one piece of formative work in the term.
Indicative reading
Students are provided with outlines and readings for topics discussed. For some introductory and background reading see: Simmons A.J., Moral Principles and Political Obligations (1980); Klosko, Political Obligations (2005); Wolff, In Defense of Anarchism (1970); Nozick R., Anarchy, State, and Utopia (1974); Rawls J., Political Liberalism (1993).
Assessment
Exam (100%), duration: 150 Minutes in the Spring exam period
Key facts
Department: LSE Law School
Course Study Period: Autumn Term
Unit value: Half unit
FHEQ Level: Level 6
CEFR Level: Null
Total students 2024/25: 118
Average class size 2024/25: 15
Capped 2024/25: Yes(150)Course selection videos
Some departments have produced short videos to introduce their courses. Please refer to the course selection videos index page for further information.
For this course, please see the following link/s:
Course Guide Video https://youtu.be/8SnFtUlk7-o
Personal development skills
- Communication
- Specialist skills