Ethics IPOL:Reinhold Niebuhr

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

Bringing moral analysis to bear on international politics is an exceedingly difficult enterprise. Twentieth century social ethicist Reinhold Niebuhr was one of the most notable recent figures to do this. Niebuhr’s thought has enjoyed a renaissance in the early twenty first century despite a significantly changed international political context. This seminar will examine Niebuhr’s major political works as well as attempts to apply his work to contemporary international political issues by thinkers such as Barack Obama, David Brooks, and Andrew Bacevich.