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Do territorial rights include the right to exclude?

Authors :
Nine, Cara
Source :
Politics, Philosophy & Economics; Nov2019, Vol. 18 Issue 4, p307-322, 16p
Publication Year :
2019

Abstract

Do territorial rights include the right to exclude? This claim is often assumed to be true in territorial rights theory. And if this claim is justified, a state may have a prima facie right to unilaterally exclude aliens from state territory. But is this claim justifiable? I examine the version of territorial rights that has the most compelling story to support the right to exclude: territorial rights as a kind of property right, where 'territory' refers to the public and common spaces included in the domain of state jurisdiction. I analyse the work of A. J. Simmons, who develops the political theory of John Locke into one of the most well-articulated and defended theories of territorial rights as a kind of property right. My main argument is that Simmons' justification for rights of exclusion, which are derived from individual rights of self-government, does not apply to many kinds of public spaces. An upshot of this analysis is that most Lockean-based theories of territorial rights will have a hard time justifying the right to exclude as a prima facie right held by states against aliens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
1470594X
Volume :
18
Issue :
4
Database :
Complementary Index
Journal :
Politics, Philosophy & Economics
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
138595263
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1177/1470594X18788345