The nation and property in Vattel’s theory of territory

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ABSTRACT This article provides an analysis of Emer de Vattel’s theory of territorial sovereignty. It argues that Vattel’s theory cannot be reduced to the agriculturalist theory of property, with which he is often associated. Instead, he draws from Christian Wolff and Samuel von Pufendorf for a conception of the nation as a complete moral person. Through an examination of the exceptions Vattel carves out for nations, it becomes clear that his defense of territorial sovereignty depends more on the nation’s claim to natural liberty that a duty to cultivate, placing Vattel’s ideas within a tradition of critiquing empire. He presents a theory of the territorial nation-state situated in a ‘native country’ that holds both rights to sovereignty and ownership, which are naturally connected through the moral person of the nation. This suggests that the normative foundation of the territorial state depend on a theory of naturally free pre-political nations.