Today, the project of liberal democracy appears under threat on multiple fronts. Repeated crises lead to governments enacting emergency measures that curtail basic rights and freedoms while upending constitutional balances of power; mass immigration produces in many places minority communities who don't enjoy the full protections of citizenship; new technologies are giving rise to new forms of digital surveillance and domination; the political public sphere is increasingly steered by social media networks that have proven all-too-fertile breeding grounds for disinformation, conspiracy theories, and aspiring authoritarians. It is essential for an active and globally engaged citizen to think critically about these 21st-century challenges to democracy and freedom. In this module, we examine a variety of these challenges from a political theory perspective--what they are, what they mean, and how possibly to defend against them.

The first part of the module will examine emergency politics and the challenges they pose to liberal and democratic principles. Our study will include classic statements such as Carl Schmitt's (in)famous discussion of "the exception" and Clinton Rossiter's analyses of the Roman Dictatorship and modern constitutional republics. We will also look at emerging literature on emergency politics at the European level, as well as the role of police power and "extralegal" forms of modern governance, which will include looking at Hannah Arendt's discussion of "rightlessness" as well as Achille Mbembe's concept of "necropolitics." A second part of the module will look at the challenges of the digital realm, including new forms of social control, algorithmic surveillance, and the spread of "fake news" and problematic conspiracy theories in the digital public sphere. Additional module sessions may address issues such as inequality, climate change, or "post-democracy" from a political theory perspective (subject to student choice).

On successful completion of this module, students will be able to: • Identify the key features of emergency politics in domestic and transnational institutions • Discuss in an informed manner the primary virtues and dangers of emergency politics and the frequency with which emergency rhetoric is invoked in political discourse • Demonstrate an informed familiarity with the questions new technologies raise with regard to individual freedom and democratic self-determination • Apply relevant theories to present-day controversies regarding pressing issues such as rising inequality, climate change, and/or the spread of conspiracy theories and "fake news" • Evaluate logical arguments about democracy and crisis in verbal and written forms, and construct original logical arguments of one's own

On successful completion of this module, students will be able to: • Demonstrate an appreciation of a variety of present-day political issues and the challenges they pose to freedom and democracy

On successful completion of this module, students will be able to: n/a

This module will be taught through multiple modes of engagement that combined seminars, self-directed learning, online media, and written assessment, with pedagogic strategies designed to support the UL graduate attributes. Methods of collaborative agenda-setting to organize class discussion and (where appropriate) select readings will help to foster graduate capacities to be agile and articulate. Students' capacity for curiosity will be stimulated by challenging readings from current research accompanied by video lectures, in-class discussion, and assignments that task students with critically assessing theories in light of current events. The module is further designed to press students to develop capacities for being courageous and responsible by challenging them to engage critically with contemporary matters of civic urgency, and via assessments involving independent research and developing original arguments.