Title: The justice of the pieces: liberalism, democracy, and the globalization of the nation-state
Abstract: For Carl Schmitt, sovereign rule and the nature of sovereign power are conceptions of
what makes a state political. The sovereign nation is legitimated by its conceptualized (or
real) democratic foundation, but is maintained by the absolutist nature of its sovereign
power. Similarly, Hobbesian sovereignty presupposes the notion of state as that body by
which sovereign power governs. I argue that the international community is formulated
on a Hobbesian conception of nation-state sovereignty, which embodies a contradiction:
the political value of nations as (state) individuals, and the liberal value of a common
humanity. This contradiction is mirrored in the tension that exists within the state
between democracy and liberalism, and is central to Western international political theory
and policy. The validity of Hobbesian-based conceptions of nation-state sovereignty are
being pulled into question. Nation-states, I argue, are increasingly required to use the
sovereign decision in order to justify their sovereignty, as defined by the 'nation'. I
attempt to show why the present international system, as a contributor to the forces of
liberal globalization, naturally leads us to question state sovereignty, which ensures the
continued use of violent sovereign power.
Publication Year: 2004
Publication Date: 2004-01-01
Language: en
Type: dissertation
Access and Citation
AI Researcher Chatbot
Get quick answers to your questions about the article from our AI researcher chatbot