In her latest article, "The Spectre of Statelessness," for International Theory, Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Affairs Lucia M. Rafanelli challenges the statist ideal that presents states as the primary guarantors of justice and democracy.
A prominent theory of political obligation argues that, to avoid the dangers of statelessness (basic needs deprivation, rights violations, and political disenfranchisement) people should establish, maintain, and obey states. In her analysis, however, Dr. Rafanelli, illustrates how statist institutions are often ill-equipped to provide full justice, especially for stateless people.
Rafanelli advances the idea that statelessness is a product of the state system’s structure and that eliminating the dangers of statelessness therefore requires challenging the core organizing principles of the state system. She concludes that stateless people have broad prima facie moral permissions to resist the state system’s constitutive norms, practices, and institutions; that others may have obligations to support their efforts; and that addressing the dangers of statelessness requires resisting rather than obeying statist institutions.
For more, consult the complete article, which is available online via open-access.