Leviathan on a Leash: A Theory of State Responsibility

Sean Fleming

Published by Princeton University Press 2020

Leviathan on a Leash

A Theory of State Responsibility

Sean Fleming

https://doi.org/10.1515/9780691211282

Overview
Contents

About this book

New perspectives on the role of collective responsibility in modern politics

States are commonly blamed for wars, called on to apologize, held liable for debts and reparations, bound by treaties, and punished with sanctions. But what does it mean to hold a state responsible as opposed to a government, a nation, or an individual leader? Under what circumstances should we assign responsibility to states rather than individuals? Leviathan on a Leash demystifies the phenomenon of state responsibility and explains why it is a challenging yet indispensable part of modern politics.

Taking Thomas Hobbes's theory of the state as his starting point, Sean Fleming presents a theory of state responsibility that sheds new light on sovereign debt, historical reparations, treaty obligations, and economic sanctions. Along the way, he overturns longstanding interpretations of Hobbes's political thought, explores how new technologies will alter the practice of state responsibility as we know it, and develops new accounts of political authority, representation, and legitimacy. He argues that Hobbes's idea of the state offers a far richer and more realistic conception of state responsibility than the theories prevalent today, and demonstrates that Hobbes's Leviathan is much more than an anthropomorphic "artificial man."

Leviathan on a Leash is essential reading for political theorists, scholars of international relations, international lawyers, and philosophers. This groundbreaking book recovers a forgotten understanding of state personality in Hobbes's thought and shows how to apply it to the world of imperfect states in which we live.

Author / Editor information

Sean Fleming is a junior research fellow at Christ's College and in the Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Cambridge.

Reviews

"Employing a carefully reworked understanding of Hobbes’s conception of the state, Fleming offers a new account of state personality—a matter that has vexed both international relations theory and international law—and applies it to the equally vexing question of state responsibility."—Harry D. Gould, author of The Legacy of Punishment in International Law

"Leviathan on a Leash is a major scholarly achievement. Fleming offers a genuinely original conceptualization of the state, showing how and why Hobbes's epochal account of state personation needs to be updated for conditions of twenty-first-century domestic and international politics."—Paul Sagar, author of The Opinion of Mankind: Sociability and the Theory of the State from Hobbes to Smith

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Preface Publicly Available Download PDF	xi
Abbreviations of Hobbes’ Works Publicly Available Download PDF	xiii
Introduction: State Responsibility and Corporate Personality Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
1. The Idea of State Responsibility Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	3
2. The Three Fundamental Questions Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	6
3. Back to Hobbes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	9
4. The Structure of the Book Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	14
1. The Agential and Functional Theories of State Responsibility
5. States as Moral Agents: The Agential Theory Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	16
6. States as Legal Persons: The Functional Theory Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	32
7. The Limitations of the Agential and Functional Theories Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	44
2. Hobbes and the Personality of the State
8. The Skinner–Runciman Debate Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	46
9. The Two Faces of Personhood Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	51
10. Hobbes’ Theory of the State Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	56
11. Artificial Men and Artificial Animals Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	61
12. The Hobbesian Theory of State Responsibility Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	68
3. Attribution: The Question of Ownership
13. General and Personal Responsibilities Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	72
14. The Conditions for Attribution Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	74
15. A Hobbesian Account of Attribution Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	79
16. From Attribution to Responsibility Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	99
17. Impersonation of the State Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	105
4. Succession: The Question of Identity
18. The Concept of Corporate Identity Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	110
19. The Conditions for Corporate Identity Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	114
20. Changes in a Single State Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	125
21. Relational Changes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	132
22. Non-Identity Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	138
5. Distribution: The Question of Fulfilment
23. The Problem of Distribution Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	144
24. The Conditions for Distribution Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	150
25. The Division of Liability Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	160
26. Non-Fulfilment Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	168
Conclusion The Future of State Responsibility
27. International Criminal Law Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	175
28. The Proliferation of Treaties Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	179
29. Cyborg States and Robotic Representatives Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	181
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	187
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	201