Fall 2015
The Concept of Sovereignty in Political Philosophy
Tuesday 14:00-17:00
Naftali 426
Julie E. Cooper
Course Description: In recent years, historical circumstances – European integration,
unprecedented levels of global migration, the rise of non-state actors, transnational
capital flows – have led political theorists to diagnose the waning of state sovereignty.
In this seminar, we will explore the concept of sovereignty – what it has historically
meant, why its viability is currently in doubt, and whether it is possible (or advisable)
to envision politics without sovereignty. In the course’s first section, we will examine
classic early modern formulations of sovereignty. In the second section, we will
explore contemporary projects to theorize politics without sovereignty.
Required Texts:


Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The Social Contract
Please purchase copies of Leviathan and The Social Contract, or take them out of the
library. Electronic versions of the Hebrew translations of Leviathan and The Social
Contract are available online through the library website. Additional readings will be
posted on the course Moodle and/or placed on reserve at the library.
Schedule of Course Meetings and Assigned Readings:
October 20: Introduction
October 27: Historical Context


Quentin Skinner, “The Sovereign State: A Genealogy”
Wendy Brown, Walled States, Waning Sovereignty, Chap. 1
November 3: Human Political Agency

Hobbes, Leviathan, Introduction, Chaps. 4-8, 11-12
November 10: Absolute Sovereignty

Hobbes, Leviathan, Chaps. 13-21
November 17: Divine vs. Human Sovereignty

Hobbes, Leviathan, Chaps. 29-32, 39-41, A Review and Conclusion
November 24: Popular Sovereignty

Rousseau, The Social Contract, Books I and II
December 1: Popular Sovereignty

Rousseau, The Social Contract, Book III and Book IV, Chaps. 1-3, 8
December 8: Sovereignty in the Twentieth Century

Carl Schmitt, Political Theology (complete)
December 15: No Class – session to be rescheduled, date, time, and topic TBA
December 22: Sovereign Power, Disciplinary Power


Michel Foucault, “Two Lectures”
Michel Foucault, Discipline and Punish, “The Means of Correct Training,”
Panopticism” [note: there is a new Hebrew translation of Discipline and
Punish, published by Resling]
December 29: Delusions of Sovereignty

Joan Cocks, On Sovereignty and Other Political Delusions, Introduction,
Chaps. 1, 3 (pp. 1-45, 89-124)
January 5: Politics Without Sovereignty
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
Hardt and Negri, Empire, pp. xi-xvii, 69-113, 183-204
Hardt and Negri, Multitude, pp. 328-358
January 12: Anarchism


Pierre Clastres, Society Against the State, Chaps. 1, 2, 5, 7, 10-11
James Scott, Two Cheers for Anarchism, pp. ix-xxvi, 30-83
May 15: last date on which to submit the seminar paper
Course Requirements: There is one graded assignment for the seminar, a paper of
15-20 pages on a topic that you will develop in consultation with me during the
course of the semester. Students are also required to sign up for a date on which to
bring a question, based on the assigned reading, for class discussion. On the date for
which you have signed up, you must distribute the question to the entire class via the
class email list by 11:00. Please arrive in class prepared to facilitate the discussion of
your own question. The final grade will be based on the final paper (85%) and
participation (15%), which includes attendance, submission of a discussion question,
and active participation in class discussion.
Contacting me: My email address is cooper@post.tau.ac.il. My office hours are
Mondays 2-3. My office number is Naftali 502.