JOHN F. KENNEDY SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
DPI-230: LEGITIMACY AND RESISTANCE
FALL 2013
Mondays, 4:10 – 6:00
Littauer 382
Arthur Applbaum
Adams Professor of Democratic Values
Rubenstein 217
arthur_applbaum@harvard.edu
Faculty Assistant:
Jennifer Valois
Littauer 201
jennifer_valois@harvard.edu
This course examines theories of political legitimacy and of justified dissent and resistance from
the French Wars of Religion in the 16th century to the Arab Spring today. Readings are drawn
from the Vindiciae Contra Tyrannos, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Immanuel Kant, and John
Rawls.
Prerequisite: one course in ethics, moral philosophy, political philosophy, or political theory.
GETTING STARTED
Come prepared for the first session on Monday, September 9. A short written assignment is due
before class.
REQUIREMENTS AND EVALUATION
Class Participation
Attendance in all classes is mandatory. You are expected to come to each session prepared to
discuss the week’s readings and examples, and to make thoughtful contributions to the learning
of your classmates. Class participation counts for 25% of your grade.
Weekly Written Assignments
Before the first class meeting on Monday, September 9, you are to complete a quiz, “Puzzles of
Legitimacy,” that is available on the course webpage. The quiz should be submitted online at the
KNet course webpage in the “Class Discussions” box, and will be graded Complete/Incomplete.
Before each subsequent class meeting, you are to complete a brief three-question written
assignment. The first question will be specific to that week’s topic. The second question always
will be, “In what you read for today, what did you find most illuminating, and why?” The third
question always will be, “In what you read for today, what did you find most puzzling, and
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why?” Answers should be no longer than 300 words in total, and will be graded
Complete/Incomplete.
Assignments are due in the “Class Discussions” box on the course webpage by 8:00 p.m. each
Sunday, the day before the class meets. All assignments submitted through the Class
Discussions box should be posted with a subject line that adheres to the following format: “Last
Name, First Name – Assignment for Class X.” You are to read your classmates’ answers before
the start of class on Monday.
You are permitted to skip one week’s written assignment over the course of the semester. Late
assignments will not be accepted. The written assignments count for 25% of your course grade.
Term Paper
A term paper between 5,000 and 6,000 words in length on an approved topic is due Monday,
December 16 at 5:00 p.m. A 500-word paper proposal is due Friday, November 1 at 5:00
p.m. The term paper counts for 50% of the course grade. The proposal and the paper are to be
submitted online at the KNet course webpage in the “Assignments for Online Submission”
section.
In the paper, you are to analyze a current or past episode of contested political legitimacy
somewhere in the world after 1980, using ideas and arguments drawn from the readings
and class discussions.
READINGS
Five books required for purchase are available at the COOP:
Vindiciae, Contra Tyrannos (1579). Edited by George Garnett. Cambridge University
Press, 2003.
Thomas Hobbes. Leviathan (1651). Edited by Richard Tuck. Cambridge University
Press, 1996.
John Locke. Two Treatises of Government (1690). Edited by Peter Laslett. Cambridge
University Press, 1988.
Immanuel Kant. The Metaphysics of Morals (1797). Edited by Mary Gregor. Cambridge
University Press, 1996.
John Rawls, A Theory of Justice (1971). Harvard University Press, revised edition, 1999.
These books have also been put on reserve at the HKS Library. All other readings for the course
are available on the Course Page. The syllabus indicates where each reading can be found.
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CLASS SCHEDULE
1. Puzzles of Legitimacy
Monday, September 9
Vindiciae, Contra Tyrannos (1579), pp. 3, 5; "Who Tyrants Are," pp. 140-148. [book]
Mack P. Holt, The French Wars of Religion, 1562-1629, second edition (Cambridge
University Press, 2005), pp. xi-xiii, 76-98, 223-224. [on-line]
Arthur Isak Applbaum, “Legitimacy’s Baggage,” DRAFT [on-line]
2. Resistance and the French Wars of Religion
Monday, September 16
Vindiciae, Contra Tyrannos, pp. 21-22 (“This should be … destroyed”), 35-50, 59-63,
67-78, 96-104, 129-160 (“to protect”), 164 (“Come then”) -172. [book]
3. Hobbes and Social Contract
Monday, September 23
Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan (1651), ed. Richard Tuck (Cambridge University Press,
1996), “Introduction,” pp. ix-xlv; chaps. 13-18 (pp. 86-129). [book]
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 18 – NO CLASS (PRESIDENT’S DAY)
4. Hobbes and the English Civil War
Monday, September 30
Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan (1651), ed. Richard Tuck (Cambridge University Press,
1996), chaps. 19-21 (pp. 129-154); chap. 29 (pp. 221-230); “A Review and Conclusion,”
pp. 483-487 (“… this Discourse.”), 490 (“There is nothing …) -491. [book]
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5. Locke and Social Contract
Monday, October 7
John Locke, Two Treatises of Government (1690), ed. Peter Laslett (Cambridge University
Press, 1988), “Locke the man and Locke the writer,” pp. 16-44; Second Treatise, sects. 124, 95-131 (pp. 267-285, 330-353). [book]
MONDAY, SEPTEBER 14—NO CLASS (COLUMBUS DAY)
6. Locke and the Revolution of 1688
Monday, October 21
John Locke, Two Treatises of Government (1690), ed. Peter Laslett (Cambridge
University Press, 1988), Second Treatise, sects. 169-243 (pp. 380-428). [book]
7. Kant and the Right of Humanity
Monday, October 28
Arthur Ripstein, Force and Freedom: Kant’s Legal and Political Philosophy (Harvard
University Press, 2009), pp. 1-56. [on-line]
Immanuel Kant, The Metaphysics of Morals (1797), trans. Mary Gregor (Cambridge
University Press, 1996), pp. 23-31, 37-38, 44-46 (Ak. 229-238, 245-248, 255-257).
[book]
TERM PAPER PROPOSALS ARE DUE BY FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 1, AT 5:00 P.M.
8. Kant and the Social Contract
Monday, November 4
Immanuel Kant, The Metaphysics of Morals (1797), trans. Mary Gregor (Cambridge
University Press, 1996), pp. 84-98, 110-113 (Ak. 306-323, 338-342). [book]
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 11—NO CLASS (VETERAN’S DAY)
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9. Kant and the French Revolution
Monday, November 18
Immanuel Kant, “On the Common Saying: That May Be Correct in Theory, But It Is of
No Use in Practice” (1793), in Immanuel Kant, Practical Philosophy, trans. Mary Gregor
(Cambridge University Press, 1996), pp. 290-304 (Ak. 8:289-306). [on-line]
Christine M. Korsgaard, “Taking the Law into Our Own Hands: Kant on the Right to
Revolution,” in The Constitution of Agency: Essays on Practical Reason and Moral
Psychology (Oxford University Press, 2008), pp. 233-262. [on-line]
10. John Rawls and Justice
Monday, November 25
John Rawls, A Theory of Justice (Harvard University Press, revised edition, 1999), §§1-4,
11, 12 (part), 13 (part), 14, 17-19, 20, 23-25, 26 (part), 39-40 (pp. 3-19, 52-58, 62
[“Now these reflections …] – 70 [“… chain connection.)”], 73-78, 86-101, 102- 105,
112-132 [“… fortunate conditions.”], 214-228). [book]
11. John Rawls and Dissent
Monday, December 2
John Rawls, A Theory of Justice (Harvard University Press, revised edition, 1999), §§5159 (pp. 293-343). [book]
John Rawls, Political Liberalism (Columbia University Press, 1996), pp. 3-11, 133-140,
212-222. [on-line]
12. Legitimacy and Resistance in the Arab Spring
Monday, December 9 [READING PERIOD]
Duncan Pickard, “The National Transitional Council of Libya,” HKS Case Program,
DRAFT [on-line]
Arthur Isak Applbaum, “All Foundings Are Forced,” DRAFT [on-line]
TERM PAPERS ARE DUE BY MONDAY, DECEMBER 16, AT 5:00 P.M.
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