Jeremy Waldron, a New York University law professor and a professor of social and political theory at Oxford, delivered a lecture on “Sovereigns, Borders and Responsibility for the World” in Lewis Library on Monday.
In the talk, Waldron focused on a Christian understanding of international sovereignty and law. “Members of the nations of the Earth are all of one blood,” he explained. “That has to be a Christian premise.”
Waldron elaborated on the details of international laws as well as the role of sovereignty on the international stage and the pervasive role of Christianity in such efforts.
“We seek theories in which sovereignty also fixes responsibility,” he said. “We must reject the theory that people must bind their whole identity to the state.”
Waldron also argued that engagement in public affairs must be paramount in moving forward, as governance is “part of our calling in creation.”
Referring to the work of philosophical greats such as Hobbes and Kant, Waldron explained that, while there are limits to the extent of sovereignty that a Christian can accept, participation in public life is the foundation of sovereignty on the national and international level from the perspective of Christian ethics.
Waldron also repudiated the idea that the sovereignty in early modern Christian states is best classified as based on the absolute sovereignty of God.
Calling this theory “a distraction,” Waldron said that the main impediment to sovereignty on the international level is not the idea of a self-restrictive sovereign, but rather succeeding in convincing nations to accept sources of international law that are not subject to self-limitation.
He then briefly discussed the difficulties surrounding nationalism, noting in particular its tendency to counteract a sense of responsibility for the universal protection of all people.
Waldron ended with a justification of international law based on the fundamental requirements for human dignity, which he described as the “normative heritage of the whole world.”
“Sovereign dignity is no doubt very important, but, ultimately, in the Christian ontology, the dignity of a sovereign when compared to the dignity of one individual is minimal,” Waldron said. “It is individual men, women and children that are each of them created in the image of God. These billions are the ones who are likely to suffer when international order is disrupted, who are likely to die when war breaks out. Hearing the cries of the oppressed is not something that can properly be drowned out by the proud majesty of an international sovereign.”
The lecture was the second in a three-part series by Waldron on “A Religious View of the Foundations of International Law,” sponsored by the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions.
In the first installment, “The Crisis of International Law and the Strictures of Public Reason,” Waldron provided a general introduction to the need for international laws.
At the third lecture, which will take place on Wednesday, Waldron’s talk is titled “The Sources of Order: Why Natural Law is Not Enough.”
Waldron was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1998. He is the author of numerous books and articles on political theory and law.
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