Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-fscjk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-18T12:39:38.227Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Individual rights and the democratic boundary problem

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 June 2014

Luis Cabrera
Luis Cabrera*
Affiliation:
Reader in Political Theory, Department of Political Science and International Studies, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
*
E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

How should the geographic boundaries of democratic participation be set? This has been a notoriously difficult theoretical question, beset by paradoxes around determining democratic participants democratically. It also is seen as increasingly important in practical terms, amid deepening interdependence between states, immigration tensions, and suprastate regional integration. Numerous recent accounts have called for extending participation beyond the state. The case is generally made on intrinsic grounds: democracy demands it. Respect for individual autonomy is said to be violated when outsiders are deeply affected by decision processes, or subject to coercion from them, without being able to participate in them. Yet, familiar problems around restrictions on the autonomy of persistent democratic minorities remain in such accounts, and they could be magnified with expanded boundaries. An alternative approach is offered here, grounded in a rights-based instrumental justification for democracy. It sees participation as foundationally – though not solely – valuable as a means of promoting and protecting fundamental rights. It recommends extending participation boundaries to reinforce protections within regional and ultimately global institutions. Democratic participation would remain crucial at all levels, not principally as an expression of autonomy but to provide checks on power and promote accountability to individuals in multilevel polities.

Keywords

global democracyboundary problemdemocratic paradoxcosmopolitanindividual rightsall affected
Type
Original Papers
Information
International Theory , Volume 6 , Issue 2 , July 2014 , pp. 224 - 254
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abizadeh, Arash. 2008. “Democratic Theory and Border Coercion: No Right to Unilaterally Control Your Own Borders.” Political Theory 36(1):37–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Abizadeh, Arash 2010. “Democratic Legitimacy and State Coercion: A Reply to David Miller.” Political Theory 38(1):121–130.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Abizadeh, Arash 2012. “On the Demos and its Kin: Nationalism, Democracy, and the Boundary Problem.” American Political Science Review 106(4):867–882.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anderson, Elizabeth. 2009. “Democracy: Instrumental vs. Non-Instrumental Value.” In Contemporary Debates in Political Philosophy, edited by Thomas Christiano and John Christman, 213–28. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.Google Scholar
Arango, Tim. 2013. “Resisting by Raising a Glass.” The New York Times, June 9. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/10/world/europe/pushing-back-and-raising-a-glass-in-turkey.htmlGoogle Scholar
Archibugi, Daniele. 2008. The Global Commonwealth of Citizens: Toward Cosmopolitan Democracy. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Arneson, Richard J. 2003. “Debate: Defending the Purely Instrumental Account of Democratic Legitimacy.” The Journal of Political Philosophy 11(1):122–132.Google Scholar
Arneson, Richard J. 2009. “The Supposed Right to a Democratic Say.” In Contemporary Debates in Political Philosophy, edited by Thomas Christiano and John Christman, 197–212. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.Google Scholar
Beckman, Ludvig. 2009. The Frontiers of Democracy: The Right to Vote and its Limits. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beitz, Charles. 1989. Political Equality: An Essay in Democratic Theory. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Beitz, Charles 2009. “The Moral Standing of States Revisited.” Ethics & International Affairs 23(4):325–347.Google Scholar
Bellamy, Richard. 2007. Political Constitutionalism: A Republican Defence of the Constitutionality of Democracy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bohman, James. 2007. Democracy Across Borders: From Demos to Demoi. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Brock, Gillian. 2006. “Humanitarian Intervention: Closing the Gap Between Theory and Practice.” Journal of Applied Philosophy 23(3):277–291.Google Scholar
Buchanan, Allen. 2004. Justice, Legitimacy, and Self-Determination: Moral Foundations for International Law. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Buchanan, Allen 2010. “The Egalitarianism of Human Rights.” Ethics 120(4):679–710.Google Scholar
Buck, Richard M. 2012. “Democratic Legitimacy: The Limits of Instrumentalist Accounts.” The Journal of Value Inquiry 46(2):223–236.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bürgin, Alexander. 2012. “Disappointment or New Strength: Exploring the Declining EU Support among Turkish Students, Academics and Party Members.” Turkish Studies 13(4):565–580.Google Scholar
Cabrera, Luis. 2010. The Practice of Global Citizenship. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Caney, Simon. 2005. Justice Beyond Borders: A Global Political Theory. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Caney, Simon 2007a. “Egalitarian Liberalism and Universalism.” In Multiculturalism and Political Theory, edited by Anthony Simon Laden and David Owen, 151–172. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Caney, Simon 2007b. “Justice, Borders and the Cosmopolitan Ideal: A Reply to Two Critics.” Journal of Global Ethics 3(2):269–276.Google Scholar
Caney, Simon 2008. “Global Distributive Justice and the State.” Political Studies 56:487–518.Google Scholar
Cavallero, Eric. 2009. “Federative Global Democracy.” Metaphilosophy 40(1):42–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Christiano, Thomas. 2006a. “Democracy”. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Accessed February 10, 2014. http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2008/entries/democracy/Google Scholar
Christiano, Thomas 2006b. “A Democratic Theory of Territory and Some Puzzles about Global Democracy.” Journal of Social Philosophy 37(1):81–107.Google Scholar
Christiano, Thomas 2011. “An Instrumental Argument for a Human Right to Democracy.” Philosophy & Public Affairs 39(2):142–176.Google Scholar
Dahl, Robert. 1989. Democracy and its Critics. New Haven: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Davenport, Christian, and Armstrong, David. 2004. “Democracy and the Violation of Human Rights: A Statistical Analysis from 1976 to 1996.” American Journal of Political Science 48:538–554.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dworkin, Ronald. 2000. Sovereign Virtue: The Theory and Practice of Equality. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Dworkin, Ronald 2011. Justice for Hedgehogs. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Estlund, David M. 2008. Democratic Authority: A Philosophical Framework. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Euractiv. 2008. “France scraps referendum on Turkey’s EU bid.” Euractiv, June 25. Accessed February 10, 2014. http://www.euractiv.com/en/enlargement/france-scraps-referendum-turkey-eu-bid/article-173616Google Scholar
European Commission. 2013. “EU Cohesion Funding – Key Statistics.” Regional Policy—INFOREGIO. Accessed February 10, 2014. http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/thefunds/funding/index_en.cfmGoogle Scholar
Falk, Richard, and Strauss, Andrew. 2011. A Global Parliament: Essays and Articles. Berlin: Committee for a Democratic UN.Google Scholar
Føllesdal, Andreas. 2010. “Universal Human Rights as a Shared Political Identity: Impossible? Necessary? Sufficient?.” In Global Democracy and Exclusion, edited by Ronald Tinnevelt and Helder de Schutter, 161–176. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.Google Scholar
Føllesdal, Andreas 2011. “Cosmopolitan Democracy: Neither a Category Mistake Nor a Categorical Imperative.” In Global Democracy: Normative and Empirical Perspectives, edited by Daniele Archibugi, Mathias Koenig-Archibugi, and Raffaele Marchetti, 96–114. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Føllesdal, Andreas, and Hix, Simon. 2006. “Why There is a Democratic Deficit in the EU: A Response to Majone and Moravcsik.” Journal of Common Market Studies 44(3):533–562.Google Scholar
Fraser, Nancy. 2008. Scales of Justice: Reimagining Political Space in a Globalizing World. Cambridge: Polity.Google Scholar
Goodhart, Michael, and Taninchev, Stacy Bondanella. 2011. “The New Sovereigntist Challenge for Global Governance: Democracy without Sovereignty.” International Studies Quarterly 55(4):1047–1068.Google Scholar
Goodin, Robert. 2007. “Enfranchising All Affected Interests, and its Alternatives.” Philosophy & Public Affairs 35(1):40–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gould, Carol. 2004. Globalizing Democracy and Human Rights. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Gutman, Arthur. 2012. “Nepotism and Employment Law.” In Nepotism in Organizations, edited by Robert G. Jones, 11–41. Abingdon: Routledge.Google Scholar
Hans Agné, Hans. 2010. “Why Democracy Must be Global: Self-Founding and Democratic Intervention.” International Theory 2(3):381–409.Google Scholar
Held, David. 1995. Democracy and the Global Order: From the Modern State to Cosmopolitan Governance. Cambridge: Polity Press.Google Scholar
Held, David 2004. Global Covenant: The Social Democratic Alternative to the Washington Consensus. Cambridge: Polity Press.Google Scholar
Johnson, Paul. 2013. Homosexuality and the European Court of Human Rights. Abingdon: Routledge.Google Scholar
Kateb, George. 1992. The Inner Ocean: Individualism and Democratic Culture. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Koenig-Archibugi, Mathias. 2011. “Is Global Democracy Possible?” European Journal of International Relations 17(3):519–542.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koenig-Archibugi, Mathias 2012. “Fuzzy Citizenship in Global Society.” Journal of Political Philosophy 20(4):456–480.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kohn, Margaret. 2012. “Colonialism.” The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2012/entries/colonialism/Google Scholar
Linklater, Andrew. 1998. The Transformation of Political Community: Ethical Foundations of the Post-Westphalian Era. Cambridge: Polity Press.Google Scholar
Lock, Tobias. 2010. “EU Accession to the ECHR: Implications for Judicial Review in Strasbourg.” European Law Review 35(6):777–798.Google Scholar
Locke, John. 1690 [1980]. Second Treatise of Government. Chapters 2, 12 (Section 13). Indianapolis: Hackett.Google Scholar
López-Guerra, Claudio. 2005. “Should Expatriates Vote?” The Journal of Political Philosophy 13(2):216–234.Google Scholar
López-Guerra, Claudio 2012. “Enfranchising Minors and the Mentally Impaired.” Social Theory and Practice 38(1):115–138.Google Scholar
Lovett, Frank. 2013. “Republicanism,” The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Accessed February 10, 2014. http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2013/entries/republicanism/Google Scholar
Macdonald, Terry. 2008. Global Stakeholder Democracy: Power and Representation Beyond Liberal States. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marchetti, Raffaele. 2008a. Global Democracy, For and Against: Ethical Theory, Institutional Design, and Social Struggles. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Marchetti, Raffaele 2008b. “A Matter of Drawing Boundaries: Global Democracy and International Exclusion.” Review of International Studies 34:207–224.Google Scholar
Marchetti, Raffaele 2012. “Models of Global Democracy Defence of Cosmo-Federalism.” In Global Democracy: Normative and Empirical Perspectives, edited by Daniele Archibugi, Mathias Koenig-Archibugi, and Raffaele Marchetti, 22–46. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Mayerfeld, Jamie. 1998. “The Myth of Benign Group Identity: A Critique of Liberal Nationalism.” Polity 30:555–578.Google Scholar
Mayerfeld, Jamie 2011. “A Madisonian Argument for Strengthening International Human Rights Institutions: Lessons from Europe.” In Global Governance, Global Government: Institutional Visions for an Evolving World System, edited by Luis Cabrera, 211–251. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.Google Scholar
Mill, John Stuart. 1861: 1991. Considerations on Representative Government. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books.Google Scholar
Miller, David. 1995. On Nationality. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Miller, David 2009. “Democracy’s Domain.” Philosophy & Public Affairs 37(3):201–228.Google Scholar
Miller, David 2010. “Why Immigration Controls Are Not Coercive: A Reply to Arash Abizadeh.” Political Theory 38(1):111–120.Google Scholar
Miller, David 2012. “Territorial Rights: Concept and Justification.” Political Studies 60(2):252–268.Google Scholar
Nagel, Thomas. 2005. “The Problem of Global Justice.” Philosophy & Public Affairs 33(2):113–147.Google Scholar
Näsström, Sofia. 2007. “The Legitimacy of the People.” Political Theory 35(5):624–658.Google Scholar
Näsström, Sofia 2011. “The Challenge of the All-Affected Principle.” Political Studies 59(XX):116–134.Google Scholar
Nickel, James W. 2007. Making Sense of Human Rights, 2nd Edition. Oxford: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Reuter, Peter, ed. 2012. Draining Development? Controlling Flows of Illicit Funds from Developing Countries. Washington, DC: The World Bank.Google Scholar
Pastor, Robert. 2011. The North American Idea: A Vision of a Continental Future. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Pevnick, Ryan. 2008. “Political Coercion and the Scope of Distributive Justice.” Political Studies 56(2):399–413.Google Scholar
Pogge, Thomas. 2008. World Poverty and Human Rights, 2nd ed.Cambridge: Polity Press.Google Scholar
Pogge, Thomas 2009. “Shue on Rights and Duties.” In Global Basic Rights, edited by Charles R. Beitz and Robert E. Goodin, 113–130. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Raz, Joseph. 1986. The Morality of Freedom. Oxford: Clarendon Press.Google Scholar
Schaffer, John Karlsson. 2012. “The Boundaries of Transnational Democracy: Alternatives to the All Affected Principle.” Review of International Studies 38(2):321–342.Google Scholar
Scholte, Jan Aart. 2012. “Reinventing Global Democracy.” European Journal of International Relations. Accessed February 10, 2014. http://ejt.sagepub.com/content/early/2012/05/29/1354066111436237Google Scholar
Schumpeter, Joseph. 1950. Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy, 3rd ed.New York: Harper & Row.Google Scholar
Seglow, Jonathan. 2005. “The Ethics of Immigration.” Political Studies Review 3(3):317–334.Google Scholar
Sen, Amartya. 1999. Democracy as Freedom. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Shachar, Ayelet. 2009. The Birthright Lottery: Citizenship and Global Inequality. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Shapiro, Ian. 2003. The State of Democratic Theory. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Simmons, A. John. 1979. Moral Principles and Political Obligations. Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Smith, Rogers M. 2008. “The Principle of Constituted Identities and the Obligation to Include.” Ethics & Global Politics 1(3):139–153.Google Scholar
Smith, William, and Brassett, James. 2008. “Deliberation and Global Governance: Liberal, Cosmopolitan and Critical Perspectives.” Ethics & International Affairs 22(1):69–92.Google Scholar
Song, Sarah. 2012. “The Boundary Problem in Democratic Theory: Why the Demos Should Be Bounded by the State.” International Theory 4(1):39–68.Google Scholar
Stilz, Anna. 2009. “Why Do States Have Territorial Rights?” International Theory 1(2):185–213.Google Scholar
Talbott, William. 2005. Which Rights Should Be Universal?. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Tan, Kok-Chor. 2004. Justice Without Borders. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
United Nations. 2013. Human development report. Accessed February 10, 2014. http://hdr.undp.org/en/Google Scholar
Villazor, Rose Cuison. 2008. “Blood Quantum Land Laws and the Race versus Political Identity Dilemma.” California Law Review 96(3):801–837.Google Scholar
Waldron, Jeremy. 1999. Law and Disagreement. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Walzer, Michael. 1983. Spheres of Justice: A Defense of Pluralism and Equality. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Weinstock, Daniel. 2010. “Motivating the Global Demos In Global Democracy and Exclusion, edited by Ronald Tinnevelt and Helder De Schutter, 177–193. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.Google Scholar
Whelan, Frederick G. 1983. “Prologue: Democratic Theory and the Boundary Problem.” In Nomos 25: Liberal Democracy, edited by J. Roland Pennock and John W. Chapman, 13–47. New York: New York University Press.Google Scholar
White, Jonathan. 2010. “Europe and the Common.” Political Studies 58(1):103–122.Google Scholar
Yack, Bernard. 2001. “Popular Sovereignty and Nationalism.” Political Theory 29(4):517–536.Google Scholar
Ypi, Lea. 2012. Global Justice and Avant-Garde Political Agency. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Zurn, Christopher. 2010. “The Logic of Legitimacy: Bootstrapping Paradoxes of Constitutional Democracy.” Legal Theory 16(3):191–227.Google Scholar