Course description
The course aims at reconstructing the philosophical, political and legal development of the idea of a global governance, peace and justice among nations. In particular, the course will explore variously articulated conceptions for the emergence of a notion of global public authority and constitutionalism starting from the paradigm shift for new forms of authority conceptualizations.

The first three lectures will introduce at the main conceptual pillars structuring the course: Governance, Constitutionalism and Development. Next, specific themes will be addressed divided into four main phases, such as i) the Discovery of Americas and the opening of Modern Times ii) The Enlightenment iii) The Post-World War II iv) Contemporary Europe and the Global Constitutional Project. The course will also consider whether there are contemporary backward trajectories.

While the consolidation through modernity of a ‘global constitutional mind-set’ has generated the birth of human rights, favoured the stabilization of interstate relations, as well as it has created the conditions for economic development and growth, a significant downside that accompanied the process was the exploitation of natural and social resources through colonization and enslavement.

Students will be asked to develop a critical approach and to reflect upon colonization processes, contemporary regional phenomena of constitutionalisation of multi-polities, as in the case of the European Union, and the relation between global wealth and authority. Students will be asked to familiarize not only with abstract theorizing but also to understand the institutional practice of several international bodies administering and regulating security, economics and transnational politics. The course will aim at developing a true interdisciplinary approach.

As a brief summary of the themes covered include the following: lectures will start from the discussion of the notion of governance, particularly how this is distinct from a notion of government, next, there will be a discussion of the notion of constitutionalism in a national and a cosmopolitan form, and finally, an evaluation of the notion of wealth and the relevance of models of political economy in the planning of state’s political strategies will be covered. The specific topics of the course will then proceed with the discussion of De Vitoria and the Second Scholastics, as particularly with the debate over the Indios after the Discovery of America in 1492. There follows an analysis of natural law thinkers and contractualists like Grotius, Hobbes, Locke and their relevance to define the State in relation to the international order. Third, it will be reconstructed the tradition of international pacifism through the three main intellectuals of the 18th century: the Abbé de Saint Pierre, Rousseau and more extensively Kant. With the cosmopolitan theory of Kant, then, a new path opens to reflect upon international law and justice. The fourth module of the course will open with the Neokantian theories for global constitutionalism, Kelsen’s Grundnorm, and continue with the school of neo-constitutionalism and, finally, of global constitutionalism. Parallel to the grand narrative of a constitutional turn of public international law and justice the course will offer contrary examples of fragmentation and regime clashes as counter tendencies to the possibility of sharing an earthly scheme of justice among nations.

Teaching methods
Frontal teaching with the use of power point slide presentation; plus 2-3 seminars (to be agreed)

Evaluation
Written exam answering 3-4 open questions; plus a mid-course essay 3-4000 words (to be agreed)

Readings
Mandatory Texts. Supplementary texts are strongly advised. Only exceptionally readings will exceed 40/50 pp of mandatory texts for each lecture.