Political Authority and the Rule of Law

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

This course explores the contested relationship between sovereignty and the rule of law. Through close readings of foundational texts, students will examine how political authority is constituted, justified, and constrained across historical and theoretical contexts. We will consider questions such as: What legitimates sovereign power? Can law bind the sovereign? How do liberty and legal authority coexist? The first part of the course surveys the early modern theories of Bodin, Hobbes, Locke, Montesquieu, and Rousseau. The second unit examines the ways in which the American founders approached the tensions, in theory and practice, between the need for political authority and the maintenance of the rule of law. The third section turns to the Weimar crisis, where legal theorists like Hans Kelsen, Carl Schmitt, and Hermann Heller developed diametrically opposed accounts of sovereignty and the rule of law. Finally, the course closes with an examination of contemporary debates about sovereignty and the challenges facing the rule of law in the twenty-first century. Throughout the course, students will develop analytical skills in political and legal theory, sharpen their writing through two essays, and engage in critical discussion of enduring issues at the heart of modern political life.