6FFLK906 Jurisprudence – Tyranny and Dictatorship Coursework Paper 2024-25 | KCL

Coursework Question/s: 

A) You can pick any of the debate topics and use it as an essay title, e.g. 

“Machiavelli was a teacher of evil.” Discuss.

B) You can also pick one of the following topics: 

1) Can we learn anything from Hobbes [alternatively: from Spinoza or Machiavelli] for a better understanding of our current liberal law? 

2) ‘Schmitt uses the idea of a pouvoir constituant to cover up the fundamentally authoritarian gist of his theory.’ Discuss.

3)  How relevant is Carl Schmitt’s work on dictatorship today?

4) ‘The concept of sovereignty is a remnant of a theologically confused metaphysics and should be banished from legal theory altogether.’ Discuss.

5) ‘Contrary to what Carl Schmitt seems to believe, the exception proves nothing.’ Discuss. 

6) ‘Despite its authoritarian appearances, Carl Schmitt’s theory does a good service in explaining the fundamental constitutional set-up of the modern constitutional state based on liberal-democratic values.’ Discuss. 

7) Who should be the guardian of the Constitution?

8) ‘There is no way to effectively guard the constitution because the guard himself has to be constitutionally constituted.’ Discuss.

9) Whose work is more anti-liberal: Kojevè’s or Strauss’s?

10) Is an engagement with dictatorship and/or tyranny of any value for the understanding of our current liberal law?