STV9028 – The methodology of political theory

Course content

The central aim of normative political theory is to reach justified conclusions on what is morally right and wrong in the political sphere. This encompasses both broad questions about how (domestic and international) society should be organized, including the conditions of legitimacy of political institutions, and moral dimensions of more specific political issues, such as questions related to war, or distributions of social and economic goods.

In recent years, there has been an increased interest in the methodological challenges of political theory, including challenges involved in making political theory relevant in practice: What is the relationship between political theory and political practice? How can one decide what political practices are morally right? What is the proper role or feasibility considerations in normative political theory? And of democracy? This course will give an advanced introduction to some of the most important contemporary debates. In particular, the course will cover:

• The use of reflective equilibrium in normative reasoning, and methodological challenges involved in the use of cases and intuitions.
• Ideal and non-ideal theory, and the debates about feasibility in political theory
• The relation between facts and normative principles
• The relation between political theory and empirical analysis
• The relationship between theory and practice

Learning outcome

The students will acquire:

• Knowledge of the main current methodological debates in political theory
• An understanding of the role of different disciplines in normative political arguments and of the methodological challenges raised by this.
• An ability to apply different methods in one’s own research and to see the relevance of methodological debates for this research.

Admission to the course

The course is open for PhD students in philosophy, political science, sociology, law and other related disciplines.

There is no participation fee, and lunches and one or two dinners are provided for registered participants. Travel and accommodation must be covered by the participants.

Apply for the course: Application form

All external candidates accepted for admission will be registered as guest students at the University of Oslo.

Application deadline: 15th August 2024

Applicants will be notified about the outcome of their application as quickly as possible after the application deadline.

Teaching

The teaching will involve a combination of lectures and seminar discussions. The students will also give presentations, which will provide the basis for group discussions.

Obligatory activities:

• Read the assigned literature in advance
• Participate actively in discussions during the course
• In advance of the course, participants will hand in a written draft of the presentation they will give during the course
• Give a presentation during the course. The presentation should discuss a methodological issue in political theory, or methodological questions connected to the student’s thesis; we recommend that the presentation be on the same topic as the essay to be submitted after the course

Deadline for submission of written draft of presentation: November 10 2024

Teachers: 

Jakob Elster, professor at Norwegian Centre for Human Rights, University of Oslo, Norway

Robert Huseby, professor at Department of Political Science, University of Oslo, Norway

Cathrine Holst, professor at the Department of Philosophy, Classics, History of Arts and Ideas, University of Oslo

Marc Fleurbaey, professor, Paris School of Economics

Examination

Submit essay based on the presentation. The essay must be between 7000-9000 words. The essay must be anchored in the course literature, and discuss a methodological issue in political theory, or methodological questions connected to the student’s thesis. Further specifications of the requirements to the essay will be provided to the participants.

Deadline for submission of essay: December 15th 2024. The participants will then receive comments, after which they will have three weeks to submit the final version.

Grading scale

Grades are awarded on a pass/fail scale. Read more about the grading system.

More about examinations at UiO

• Use of sources and citations
• Special exam arrangements due to individual needs
• Withdrawal from an exam
• Illness at exams / postponed exams
• Explanation of grades and appeals
• Resitting an exam
• Cheating/attempted cheating

You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.