For a long time, political theory’s engagement with the climate crisis revolved primarily around questions of justice, focusing on the assignment of responsibilities for bearing the costs of effective countermeasures. More recently, in the face of institutional inertia and the rise of climate protests, another strand of debate has developed that focuses on challenges to democracy. Starting from the still fundamental questions of justice, this seminar looks at the relationship between the climate crisis and democracy. Questions to be addressed include: Who has the responsibility to fight climate change? What normative principles should guide climate legislation? What forms of political activism can be justified in light of the climate crisis? What are the opportunities and dangers of declaring a climate emergency? How should we deal with possible trade-offs between democratic self-determination and effective climate protection?
Literature
The literature will be provided at the beginning of the semester. For first orientation on the topic see:
McKinnon, Catriona (2022): Climate Change and Political Theory. Cambridge, UK, Hoboken, NJ/USA: Polity.
Smith, Graham (2021): Can Democracy Safeguard the Future? Cambridge: Polity.
- Lehrende/r: Markus Patberg