Category Archives: Territory

Locke, land and coercion

From Crooked Timber The standard Lockean case for (propertarian) libertarianism rests on the (universally false) assumption that an appropriation of land leaves “enough and as good” for anyone else. As long as land can be stolen from people who are … Continue reading

Posted in John Locke, Territory, The Birth of Territory | Leave a comment

Gratton on sovereignty

Peter Gratton replies to two of my recent posts here and here. Both replies have great titles. The first is a discussion of the canon. Peter writes  As someone who wrote an entire chapter on Boulainviller, I’m happy to change … Continue reading

Posted in Boundaries, Gottfried Leibniz, Jean Bodin, John Locke, Michel Foucault, Peter Gratton, Territory, The Birth of Territory, Walter Ralegh | 3 Comments

Somalia and the question of territory

Cara Nine at Territory and Justice raises the question of Somalia. Her reference is to a piece in Der Spiegel and some BBC pieces. For her, the question is The case of the failed state is interesting because it forces … Continue reading

Posted in Boundaries, Politics, Territory, Terror and Territory | 1 Comment

Erlangen lecture – video available

The video (and also, separately, the audio) of the lecture in Erlangen can be found in various formats here. (If you want to read the quotes, then I’d suggest the 640×360 one (Stream or Download) As well as a general … Continue reading

Posted in Andreas Knichen, Bartolus of Sassoferrato, Conferences, Gottfried Leibniz, Jean Jacques Rousseau, Johannes Althusius, Territory | Leave a comment

Hobbes and Rousseau

I’ve been spending the past couple of days writing up the sections on Hobbes and Rousseau from the fairly extensive notes I’d taken. With Hobbes the focus is on his critique of the temporal/spiritual power division; his engagement with Robert Bellarmine, … Continue reading

Posted in Gottfried Leibniz, Jean Jacques Rousseau, Territory, The Birth of Territory, Thomas Hobbes | 1 Comment

Erlangen – academic

Some academic thoughts on the trip to Erlangen. The lecture seemed to go well. A good size audience in a nice modern lecture room in the castle – now part of the University. Though I knew it was being recorded … Continue reading

Posted in Andreas Knichen, Conferences, Derek Gregory, Gottfried Leibniz, Jean Jacques Rousseau, Johannes Althusius, Territory, The Birth of Territory | Leave a comment

Erlangen Cultural Geography lecture

I’m finishing writing the lecture I’ll give in Erlangen tomorrow evening. I think I’ve managed to find a balance between a lecture that will work and one that will be sufficiently different for me to find it interesting. One of the … Continue reading

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Terror and Territory reviewed in Choice

Terror and Territory is reviewed in the July edition of Choice by Matthew O’Gara. The book is described as a “highly welcome work” that “interrogates the seemingly contradictory nature of state sovereignty”. It’s praised for refuting the claim that “the … Continue reading

Posted in My Publications, Territory, Terror and Territory | Leave a comment

Taaffe Human Geography lecture

I’ve been asked to give the Taaffe Human Geography lecture at Ohio State University later this year, probably in November. The lectures are named after Edward J. (‘Ned’) Taaffe. Taaffe himself gave the first lecture, and John Agnew, Brian Berry, Mike … Continue reading

Posted in Conferences, Territory | Leave a comment

Initial thoughts on Andreas Knichen

I’ve been slowly struggling my way through Andreas Knichen’s 1600 book, De sublimi et regio territorii iure synoptica tractatio. Knichen was a German jurist and political advisor. Some thoughts:- – Knichen explicitly links the notion of Landeshoheit with superioritas territorialis. … Continue reading

Posted in Andreas Knichen, Baldus de Ubaldis, Bartolus of Sassoferrato, Gottfried Leibniz, Jean Bodin, Quentin Skinnner, Territory, The Birth of Territory | Leave a comment