Obligations abroad : towards a just foreign policy

This dissertation considers three implications of collective self-government for just foreign policies in an imperfect world. Individuals are the appropriate moral unit of analysis, constrained to govern themselves justly, together with compatriots. First I derive limits to state autonomy that follow from states being mere aggregations of rights-bearing individuals: human rights constrain treatment of individuals, and government must include all citizens. States are governed well-enough that others should not interfere if all citizens have effective political powers without risking their dignity. These states are collectively self-determined. Second, the fact of citizenship constrains redistribution of wealth among countries. Shared wealth should presuppose shared governance, and if one wants to limit the latter, one should limit the former, to that needed for collective self- determination. Providing clear limits on aid, as well as interference, helps avoid abuse. While participation, representation and accountability do not guarantee good government, they are prerequisites; the primary international obligation is to develop well-ordered institutions. Third, I derive constraints on national autonomy that follow from the need to secure international cooperation. Reasonable disagreements about fairness are sometimes indistinguishable from rational-interest pursuit, giving others reason for distrust. Since collectively self-determined citizens put their interests first, how are countries to agree on a single cooperative solution? If they agree to follow a single course of action when new problems arise, before they know which countries will in fact benefit, and with the knowledge that risks, costs and benefits would be distributed fairly over

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Political Science.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2004

Author dc:creator

• Rothkin, Karen, 1966-

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Joshua Cohen.

• Political Science.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/18037

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/18037