Staff

Peter Morriss

Adjunct Lecturer

B.A. (Hons) 1st class, Government University of Essex
Ph.D. (Political theory) University of Manchester

Email: pete.morrissnuigalway.ie

Member of the Power, Conflict and Ideologies Research Cluster

Profile

I was a lecturer in Departments of Politics in (successively) the Universities of Manchester, Keele, Essex, and Liverpool before coming to NUI, Galway. I have also been a Visiting Professor in Korea University (Seoul, Korea) and a Visiting Fellow in the Research School of Social Sciences, Institute of Advanced Studies, Australian National University.

I specialize in political theory (very broadly understood), with a side-interest in the politics of South Korea. I have taught many different courses on the history of political thought and on contemporary political philosophy, and on the philosophy of social science. I have also taught third year option courses on: Democracy; Socialism; Utopianism; political philosophy and law; political philosophy applied to issues of life and death; abortion (and political philosophy); and Korea.

Within political theory, I have written extensively on the concept of power [see publications], from within the tradition of analytic political theory. I have also written on the notion of liberalism, and explored ideas within liberal political philosophy, particularly in relation to the nature of law within a liberal polity. I also have an interest in applying political philosophy to contemporary issues, such as public transport, abortion and (more recently) marriage. This has led to an interest in the history of the law on these topics, particularly abortion, on which I am currently working.

My interest in Korea has mainly been expressed, in addition to teaching, in several articles on elections in South Korea.

Teaching

Courses on the history of political thought, contemporary political philosophy, and on the philosophy of social science

Third-year option courses on: Democracy; Socialism; Utopianism; political philosophy and law; political philosophy applied to issues of life and death; abortion (and political philosophy); and Korea.

Research Interests

The concept of power from within the tradition of analytic political theory
Liberalism and liberal political philosophy, particularly in relation to the nature of law within a liberal polity
The application of political philosophy to contemporary issues, such as public transport, abortion and (more recently) marriage; this has led to an interest in the history of the law on these topics, particularly abortion, on which I am currently working.

Selected Publications

’Power and Liberalism’ in S. Clegg and M. Haugaard, eds, The Sage Handbook of Power (London: Sage, 2009)

’The Statute Law on Abortion in the Republic of Ireland’ in J. Schweppe, ed., The Unborn Child, Article 40.3.3 and Abortion in Ireland: Twenty-Five Years of Protection? (Dublin: The Liffey Press, 2008)

It is well known that there has been no substantive legislation on abortion in the history of the Irish state: the statute law governing abortion remains the Offences Against the Person Act (1861), sections 58 and 59. In this article I suggest that the absence of such legislation is a puzzle. I do this by examining the abortion sections of the 1861 Act in some detail, particularly on two important questions: (a) at what stage in the foetus’s development is it covered by the Act? (b) does the Act outlaw abortion conducted by qualified doctors with the aim of preserving the life and/or health of the mother? My conclusion will be that, at least until 1983, the law in these areas was surprisingly weak – which makes the absence of legislation before then all the more puzzling. 

’Casuistry and Chess: Some Methodological Lessons for Ethics’ in B. Hale, ed., Philosophy Looks at Chess (Chicago: Open Court, 2008)

’How to Think about Marriage: Autonomy, Equality, Recognition’, Irish Political Studies 22 (2007) pp. 545-64, also published in J. de Wispelaere, C. McBride and S. O’Neill, eds, Recognition, Equality and Democracy: Theoretical Perspectives on Irish Politics (London: Routledge, 2008)

’Steven Lukes on the Concept of Power’, Political Studies Review 4 (2006) pp. 124-135

Power: A Philosophical Analysis (Second Edition: Manchester: Manchester University Press, and New York: Palgrave, 2002)

’Roh Regrets: Leadership, Culture and Politics in South Korea,’ Crime, Law and Social Change 28 (1997) pp. 39-51

’Blurred Boundaries,’ Inquiry 40 (1997) pp. 259-90

’Electoral Politics in South Korea,’ Electoral Studies 15 (1996) pp. 550-62

’Power in New Haven: A Reassessment of Who Governs?,’ British Journal of Political Science 2 (1972) pp. 457-465. Reprinted in J. Scott, ed., Power: Critical Concepts (London: Routledge, 1996)

’Should We Subsidize Public Transport?’ Political Quarterly 54 (1983) pp. 656-661

>> For a full list of publications, click here.

Supervision of Research

PhDs supervised

Oliver Feeney, ’Equality of Whom? A Genetic Perspective on Equality of Opportunity’ (2008) (Awarded the 2009 Political Studies Association of Ireland Basil Chubb prize for the best PhD thesis produced in an Irish university)

Geoff Cupit, ’Justice as Fitness’, (1987) [subsequently published by Oxford University Press]

Jeff Girling, ’Freedom and Equality’ (1984)

Dave McMonnies, ’Trade union attitudes towards co-ops: a Merseyside case study (1983)

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