
Introductory Lecture: Eichmann in Jerusalem and Political Legitimacy
Yale political science professor Ian Shapiro opens this second lecture of Moral Foundations of Politics with Hannah Arendt's account of the Eichmann trial. He asks students what troubled them most, Eichmann's actions as a Nazi officer following orders, or Israel's capture, extradition, trial, and execution of a man abducted from Argentina. The discussion moves through Eichmann's defense, the legality of his capture, and whether the Third Reich itself could be called an illegitimate government whose laws Eichmann was free to break. Chapters trace the class conversation from Eichmann's biography through the ethics of his apprehension and punishment. Shapiro closes by mapping the discussion onto five traditions of political legitimacy introduced in the prior session, and sets up John Locke as the framework for the next lecture. The format is a recorded seminar-style lecture with active student back and forth throughout.