Jack Amoureux is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Political Science at Wake Forest University.  Amoureux previously lived in Washington, D.C., where he was an Assistant Professor in the School of International Service at American University.  He received his PhD from Brown University and is originally from Boise, Idaho.  Amoureux writes at the intersection of international relations and political theory, spanning the topics of international ethics, critical theory, international organizations and foreign policy.  He has published an article in Millennium: Journal of International Studies, and a chapter in the edited volume, Ethics, Authority and War: Non-State Actors in the Just War Tradition.  His current projects include a book manuscript that develops ‘ethical reflexivity’ as a practice of ethics for international politics and a project on drones and U.S. foreign policy.  In his spare time he enjoys playing with his toddler and is an avid fan of Boise State football.

Education
Ph.D.   2010, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island
M.A.    2002, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
M.P.A.  2001, Boise State University, Boise, Idaho
B.S.    1999, Boise State University, Boise, Idaho

Academic Appointments
Visiting Assistant Professor, Wake Forest University, Department of Politics and International Affairs, 2012-present
Part-Time Assistant Professor, Wake Forest University, Department of Politics and International Affairs, 2011-2012
Assistant Professor, American University, School of International Service, 2010-2011

Click here for CV.

Publications:

“’Justice is Conscience’: Hizbollah, Israel, and the Perversity of Just War in the 21st Century” (with Brent J. Steele) In Brent J. Steele and Eric Heinze, eds. Ethics, Authority and War: Non-State Actors in the Just War Tradition. Palgrave Press, 2009.

“NGOs and Monitoring Genocide: The Benefits and Limits to Panopticism,” (with Brent J. Steele),Millennium: Journal of International Studies, Vol. 34 No. 2 (2006): 401-432

Media:

‘America is Asking all the Wrong Questions about Drones’ U.S. News and World Report (19 March 2013)

‘Are U.S. Drones Ethical?’ Christian Science Monitor (1 April 2013)

POL 264 Ethical Dilemmas in International Politics

This class equips students with the conceptual and theoretical tools to identify ethical dilemmas in global politics and foreign policy decisions, inquire into how ethics has been attended to, and consider how practices and traditions of ethics might be transformed. The issues we will examine include: development, foreign aid and global distributive justice; when and how to conduct war; human rights and humanitarian intervention; weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons; non-state actors and violence; whistleblowing and individual responsibility; trauma and the challenges of societal healing; punishment and justice; and the role of technology and simulation in international conflict. In examining these issues we will be attentive to the relationship between power, interests, and normative beliefs.

POL 252 Human Rights

This course explores the politics and theory of international human rights. We begin the course by asking whether we can speak of human rights as universal or as relative to culture. We then explore the politics of defining an international norm of human rights, considering Western proposals and their challengers. We survey the successes and failures of human rights global governance, including the emergence and institutionalization of a human rights norm, responsiveness to gross violations of human rights such as genocide, and efforts to punish human rights violators through ad hoc courts and the International Criminal Court. Drawing on a variety of historical and contemporary cases we examine the role of states, NGOs and international organizations in the promotion and enforcement of human rights. Finally, we consider how well theories of International Relations explain the politics of human rights. Some of the topics covered include genocide, labor practices and development, torture, humanitarian intervention, the rights of women and children, and the International Criminal Court.

POL 116 International Politics

This course serves as an introduction to many of the theories, concepts, issues and problems found in the academic study of international politics. There is a strong emphasis on learning and critiquing theories that serve as lenses through which to interpret international politics.