Staff

Dr William Smith

Profile

I joined the Department in September 2006, after spending two years as a lecturer at the University of Warwick. Prior to that, I was employed as a research assistant on an ESRC project on cosmopolitanism and military intervention. I received my PhD from the University of Warwick in January 2004.

I teach and research in the area of contemporary political theory. I currently convene and lecture on our core 3MA module 'Theorising Politics' and the 4MA option module 'Dilemmas of Democracy: National and Global'. I also contribute to the first year module 'Political Ideologies'.

Teaching

Undergraduate Modules:

• Political Ideologies
• Theorising Politics
• Dilemmas of Democracy: National and Global

Research

Publications

Selected articles/chapters

William Smith and James Brassett ‘Deliberation and Global Governance: Liberal, Cosmopolitan and Critical Perspectives’, Ethics & International Affairs, 22:1 (2008), pp. 69-92.

William Smith and Robert Fine ‘Cosmopolitanism and Military Intervention’ in C. Hughes and R. Devetak (eds.) The Globalization of Political Violence: Globalization’s Shadow (London: Routledge, 2008), pp. 46-68.

William Smith 'Civil Disobedience and Social Power: Reflections on Habermas', Contemporary Political Theory, 7:1, (2008), pp. 72-89.

William Smith 'Cosmopolitan Citizenship: Virtue, Irony, and Worldliness', European Journal of Social Theory, 10:1, (2007), pp. 37-52.

William Smith 'Anticipating a Cosmopolitan Future: The Case of Humanitarian Military Intervention', International Politics, 44:1, (2007), pp. 72-89.

William Smith 'Democracy, Deliberation and Disobedience', Res Publica, 10:4, (2004), pp. 353-377.

William Smith and Robert Fine, 'Kantian Cosmopolitanism Today: John Rawls and Jürgen Habermas on Immanuel Kant's Foedus Pacificum', King's College Law Journal, 15:1, (2004), pp. 5-22.

Robert Fine and William Smith, 'Jürgen Habermas' Theory of Cosmopolitanism', Constellations, 10:4, (2003), pp. 469-487.

Research Statement

My work in political theory revolves around the related themes of citizenship, democracy and global politics. I address two main topics. First, I am exploring the current revival of cosmopolitan ideas across the humanities and social sciences. This has resulted in published and ongoing work on the virtues of global citizenship, the theory and practice of cosmopolitan military intervention, and the changing nature of democratic politics. Second, I am exploring the role of illegal political protest within constitutional democratic regimes. In particular, I am interested in the relationship between the justification of civil disobedience and the underlying principles of a deliberative democracy.