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The Asymmetry of Legitimacy

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Abstract

State legitimacy is often said to have two aspects: an internal and an external one. Internally, a legitimate state has the right to rule over its subjects. Externally, it has a right that outsiders not interfere with its domestic governance. But what is the relation between these two aspects? In this paper, I defend a conception of legitimacy according to which these two aspects are related in an importantly asymmetrical manner. In particular, a legitimate state’s external right to rule affords it protections that include and go beyond what its internal right to rule enables it to do. This asymmetrical view, I argue, is preferable to its two main rivals: the view that a state’s internal and external legitimacy are separate issues, and the view that internal and external legitimacy are mirroring.

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Correspondence to Bas van der Vossen.

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van der Vossen, B. The Asymmetry of Legitimacy. Law and Philos 31, 565–592 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10982-012-9132-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10982-012-9132-7

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