Frank Dietrich

Symposium ‘Theories of Territory beyond Westphalia’

Is territory a trap? Does the concept of territory trap us into false assumptions of internally homogeneous, externally bounded political communities that exercise uniform sovereignty across their domain? Against the background of debates about territory and the territorial state in international relations, this symposium brings together five contributions in political theory that advance a nuanced and systemic understanding of what territory is. Taken together, they indicate that there is much to the territorial paradigm beyond the modern, sovereign, and territorial state model. There are diverse conceptions of territory, which may be relevant across different legal and political orders. The various conceptual analyses of territory in this symposium suggest that the sovereign state model is only one way in which a sovereign political authority can be territorial. These essays provide the conceptual tools to formulate (and subsequently test) the hypothesis that the transformations in statehood may not be best described in terms of the rise and decline of territorial sovereignty, but as moves from one model of territorially bounded political authority to another. In political theory, it is only in recent years that this foundational concept has received sustained attention from political theorists. This symposium aims to take forward this welcome theoretical development.

The status of Kosovo - reflections on the legitimacy of secession

On 17 February 2008, the province of Kosovo formally declared its independence from Serbia. The most important normative theories of secession—choice theories and just cause theories—appear to justify the creation of a second Albanian state on the Balkans. Kosovos independence reflects the will of the vast majority of its inhabitants and can be seen as a remedy for grave human rights violations in the era of Slobodan MiloŠević. Two problems, however, need to be thoroughly discussed. Firstly, the secession of Kosovo may establish a precedent for other separatist conflicts and contribute to the destabilization of south-east Europe and other world regions. Secondly, the new political authorities in Pristina may not be capable to protect the Serb minority against discrimination and repression. It is argued that both problems give no conclusive reasons to reject Kosovos claim for independence. However, some aspects of the secession, for instance the maintenance of the provincial borders, are considered to be illegitimate.

Secession of the rich A qualified defence

The secession of prosperous regions may negatively affect the redistributive scheme of an established state. As a consequence, the capacity of its welfare system to support the inhabitants of poorer regions may be significantly reduced. Some authors assert that affluent groups who opt for full political independence violate duties of solidarity. This objection to the secession of prosperous regions can be based on different views of distributive justice. Here, following a distinction that has been introduced by Allen Buchanan, ‘subject centred’ and ‘justice as reciprocity’ theories are explored. It is argued that both theories fail to support the case against the secession of wealthy groups. ‘Subject centred’ theories cannot explain special duties toward compatriots, whereas ‘justice as reciprocity’ theories cannot justify restrictions on exit rights. However, this does not mean that separatists have no moral duties vis-à-vis their (former) fellow citizens. They are obliged to dissolve the political union in a fair way, e.g., by accepting responsibility for some share of the public debts.

Liberalismus, Nationalismus und das Recht auf Selbstbestimmung

Abstract In recent years theorists, such as Yael Tamir and David Miller, have proposed a liberal form of nationalism thereby combining two seemingly incompatible traditions of thought. Perhaps the most controversial element of their theories is the claim that national communities should be accorded with a right to political self-determination. In the article it is explained, firstly, why membership in a nation is seen as important for the individual’s well-being and, secondly, why statehood is deemed necessary for the thriving of the nation. Subsequently, two problems of the liberal nationalists’ argument for political self-determination are discussed. It is argued, firstly, that national communities only need some form of regional autonomy to achieve their most important goals and, secondly, that non-national communities, e.g. religious groups, can base their demand for political sovereignity on the very same argument.

Recht als Sonderfall einer Normordnung

Das Recht verkorpert ein zentrales Prinzip der gesellschaftlichen Organisation, das historisch schon fruh in Erscheinung trat und sich weltweit durchgesetzt hat. Obwohl das Recht die Lebenswirklichkeit der Individuen stark pragt, erscheint klarungsbedurftig, worin seine konstitutiven Merkmale bestehen (Stepanians 2007). Eine wichtige Aufgabe der Rechtsphilosophie besteht darin zu untersuchen, was Recht ist und wie es sich von anderen Regelungssystemen unterscheidet.

Die moralische Bedeutung politischer Grenzen

Abstract In his recent book One World one of Peter Singer’s main concerns is the preferential treatment of compatriots. Two aspects of Singer’s theoretical reflections on this issue are critically discussed: the use of an impartiality test as basis for the justification of special duties and the resulting condemnation of partial preferences for compatriots. Subsequently, an alternative way to justify special duties is outlined and applied to the case of fellow citizens. It is argued, that partiality to compatriots can be defended, if special duties are regarded as a constitutive part of valuable relationships.