Locke and the State of Exception Towards a Modern Understanding of Emergency Government.

The article focuses on the perception by philosopher John Locke that constitutional arrangements have been developed by modern states for protection from threats to their continued existence. Locke has observed tension between a commitment to the rule of law and the prospect that exceptional cases can force the executive to deviate from the law. A certain ambiguity regarding the legality of emergency powers is testified by the theory of Locke.