States, Nations, and Borders: The Ethics of Making Boundaries Glyn Redworth

States, Nations, and Borders: the Ethics of Making Boundaries compares the views and principles of seven prominent ethical traditions on one of the most pressing issues of modern politics - the making and unmaking of state and national boundaries. The traditions represented are Judaism, Christianity, Islam, natural law, Confucianism, liberalism and international law. The contributors, each an expert in one of these traditions, show how that tradition addresses the five dominant methods of altering state and national boundaries - conquest, settlement, purchase, inheritance, and secession. Among the key questions addressed in the book are: Is conquest justified? What is the relationship between land and territory? What, if anything, can justify secession? What counts as settlement, and is it a morality sufficient ground for the acquisition of territory and the creation of boundaries? States, Nations, and Borders, written by a distinguished group of international specialists, is unique in providing both normative and comparative perspectives on a range of troubling issues that will offer readers deep insights into inter-tradition conflict. The book will interest scholars and upper-level undergraduates in philosophy, political science, international relations, and comparative religion.