Political and Legal Obligation Book

At a point in history marked by dramatic challenges to the existing political and social order, the question of legal and political obligation emerges as a focal point of international concern. Amid the clamor for radical change in the established order, theories of political obligation demand renewed examination. In this volume, eighteen leading specialists in the legal, philosophical, and political science aspects of the question, offer their views on this timely topic. Part I examines the nature of moral, legal, and political obligation. The first essay presents a set of defi nitions that denies the very existence of obligation. The second essay disagrees particularly with respect to the relationship of political to moral tenets, and the third discusses the highly complex interplay between law and morality. Part II takes up the conditions of obligation and of obedience. The fi rst essay in this part discusses the conditions necessary to generate a "felt obligation." The second paper, concentrates on exposing key obstacles to the empirical proof that behavior is, or is not, motivated by "felt obligation." While the third draws upon a large body of literature and court decisions dealing with compliance to the law. The fourth essay is a case study of Rome, probing the role of obligation during that city's seven centuries of existence without a police force, and the ultimate breakdown of the system. Part III highlights ethical considerations that arise out of civil disobedience. The first essay proposes a rather restrictive defi nition of civil disobedience, and then embarks on a surprising examination of this subject in the light of the traditional arguments for "just war." Following that, is a broader examination of disobedience, emphasizing a contextual approach and applying, as a test, the likelihood of public good that will result from disobedience. Scholars and students in the areas of law, philosophy, and political science will find this volume a vital addition to their libraries.Read More