Paulina Ochoa's "On Borders: Territories, Legitimacy, and the Rights of Place"

Session Submission Type: Virtual Author meet critics

Session Description

On Borders asks when are borders legitimate, and it offers a new theory to answer the question. The book challenges critical and normative theories that criticize or justify borders solely in terms of identity (who you are), and instead frames borders and border legitimacy from the perspective of place and presence (where you are). Instead of thinking of borders as the exclusionary limit of identity groups (a “desert island model”), the book develops a theory of territorial jurisdictions grounded on place-specific relations, giving central roles to urban settings and the environment. I call this the “watershed model” of territorial rights and borders.

Sub Unit

• Division 2: Foundations of Political Theory

Chair

• Elizabeth F. Cohen Syracuse University

Presenters

• Margaret Moore Queens University

• Matthew Longo Leiden University

• Ayelet Shachar University of Toronto

• Paulina Ochoa Espejo Haverford College

• Avery Kolers University of Louisville