Nasty, Brutish and False: Rousseau's State in the International Order

39 Syracuse J. Int'l L. & Com. 357 (2012)

23 Pages Posted: 8 Jun 2012

See all articles by Tara Helfman

Tara Helfman

Syracuse University - College of Law

Date Written: June 1, 2012

Abstract

Focusing on the writings of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, this article offers an account of an important episode in the historical development of international legal theory: the emergence of a conception of the state as a singular agent, a fictional person that behaves differently from the people who constitute it. In the process, this article challenges prevailing interpretations of Rousseau's place in the Western tradition of international thought and also situates him in the positivist tradition of international law.

Keywords: law, international law, international legal theory, philosophy, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Thomas Hobbes, Hugo Grotius, state, state agency, state responsibility, history, political theory, political science, legal theory, eighteenth-century, natural law, law of nations, Emmerich de Vattel

Suggested Citation

Helfman, Tara, Nasty, Brutish and False: Rousseau's State in the International Order (June 1, 2012). 39 Syracuse J. Int'l L. & Com. 357 (2012), Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2079885

Tara Helfman (Contact Author)

Syracuse University - College of Law ( email )

Syracuse, NY 13244-1030
United States

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