The script of alliance: Locke on the federative

Poole, Thomas ORCID: 0000-0001-9721-7502 (2021) The script of alliance: Locke on the federative. History of Political Thought, 42 (4). 683 - 704. ISSN 0143-781X

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Abstract

The paper addresses Locke’s analysis of the federative power, presented as a distinct constitutional category separate from both the ordinary and special or prerogative powers of the executive in that it relates to the ‘external’ capacities of the state. The operation of the federative is marked by the interplay of prudence and law. Locke acknowledges the prudential element, but seems on one reading to downplay the juridical dimension. That reading does not fit well with Locke’s designation of making treaties or compacts (foedera) as the power’s central feature, nor with his account of natural law as a moral condition that includes the capacity to incur binding obligations. The federative should be seen rather as the part of the constitution through which the state’s external agency is exercised and the location of the state’s duties in respect of the law-generating activities in the international sphere. Its institutional specification should be framed accordingly.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://www.ingentaconnect.com/contentone/imp/hpt/...
Additional Information:	© 2021 Imprint Academic. All rights reserved.
Divisions:	Law
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > B Philosophy (General) J Political Science > JC Political theory K Law > K Law (General)
Date Deposited:	10 Jan 2022 11:42
Last Modified:	23 Nov 2024 08:03
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/113373

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