Prof Katrin Flikschuh

This course is available on the MSc in Political Theory. This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit. This course uses controlled access as part of the course selection process. For information on controlled access courses, including eligibility, application processes, deadlines, and departmental contact details, please refer to the Controlled Access Courses webpage.

How to apply: To apply for a place on this course, please submit a short statement of no more than 200 words via LfY. Your statement should outline your reasons for applying and explain how the course will support your academic and/or career goals. If applicable, you should also demonstrate how you meet any pre-requisites listed in the course guide. If the course is compulsory for your programme, no written statement is required.

Priority for places on Government (GV) courses will be given first to students for whom the course is compulsory. Where applicable, priority will then be given to students on the Department of Government programmes listed in the ‘Availability’ section of the course guide, followed by students on other programmes listed in that section. Students on all other programmes will be considered next, where a course is available as an outside option. You should ensure that you meet any pre-requisites listed in the course guide before applying. Places on capped courses cannot be guaranteed. Where a course is oversubscribed, places will be allocated based on programme priority and the written statement.

Deadline for applications: The deadline for applications is 12:00 noon on Friday 25 September 2026. You can expect to be informed of the outcome of your application by 12:00 noon on Monday 28 September 2026. Any places remaining after this date will be allocated based on priority and written statement - up until course selection closes.

For queries contact: gov.msc@lse.ac.uk.

This course is capped at 2 groups.

Some familiarity with either the history of political thought or with philosophy is an advantage. The course does not assume any prior exposure to Kant’s political or philosophical writings. That said, Kant’s writings are intellectually demanding; students should have an interest in engaging with political concepts at a fairly high level of abstraction.

This course offers an introduction to and critical appraisal of Immanuel Kant's political philosophy. Despite the enormous influence which Kant's moral philosophy has exerted on debates in contemporary political theory, his political philosophy has until recently been largely ignored. This is now changing: Kant's political philosophy is beginning to be studied in its own right. Such study shows that his political thinking is distinctive within the tradition of European political thought and from much contemporary political theory. The impact of Kant's thought upon the latter must, therefore, be re-assessed. Through close reading and analysis of the primary texts, this course introduces students to Kant's distinctive approach to political thinking.

The core text will be the Doctrine of Right (Part 1 of The Metaphysics of Morals). The course will also draw on Kant’s other works, including his celebrated essay, 'On Perpetual Peace'; and his less well known, but no less important essay 'On the Common Saying: "This may be true in theory, but does it work in Practice".' The analytic and substantive focus will be on three interrelated themes: Kant's idea of freedom as an idea of reason; his account and justification of individual property rights and related conception of state authority; and his cosmopolitan conception of justice. The analytic and philosophical focus will be on Kant's own political thinking, although we shall compare and contrast Kant's position with other – historical and contemporary – positions wherever appropriate.

20 hours of seminars in the Winter Term.

This course has a reading week in Week 6 of Winter Term.

Essay (2500 words).

Students are expected to come well prepared and take an active role in seminar discussion. Doing the weekly readings in advance of the seminars is essential for this course. Students are expected to write one formative essay (of up to 2,500 words). The formative essay will be marked and commented on, but does not count towards formal assessment for this course.

Kant, The Metaphysics of Morals, Part 1; Kant, Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals; M Timmons (ed.), Kant's Metaphysical of Morals. Interpretative Essays; Katrin Flikschuh, Kant and Modern Political Philosophy; Arthur Ripstein, Force and Freedom; B. Sharon Byrd and Joachim Hruschka, Kant’s Doctrine of Right: A Commentary; Onora O'Neill, Constructions of Reason; Pauline Kleingeld, Kant and Cosmopolitanism; Stephen Darwall, The Second-Person Standpoint.

Essay (100%, 5000 words) in Spring Term Week 3.