Indigenous Sovereignty and the Democratic Project [Paperback]

Liberal democracies are predicated on popular sovereignty - the ideal of government for and by the People. Throughout the developed world indigenous peoples continue to deny legitimacy to otherwise popular governments because their consent has never been sought. Using examples from Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the USA, this book tackles the problem of democratic legitimation from the perspective of indigenous peoples, arguing that having suffered conquest, these people cannot be said to consent until conditions for their consent have been realised. These conditions include constitutional change that recognizes indigenous law as the 'law of the land' - a radical proposal going far beyond the current limits of self-determination.Contents: Introduction. Nations Within: 'We are only demanding our country'; Playing with the umpire. Long Live The King!: Long live the king!; The act of state; State and nation. Born To Rule: We the people; Imagining the people; The appeal to heaven; Born to rule. Indigenous Sovereignty: Applications and limitations; On a new republic; Bibliography; Index.This book is concerned with the contrast between indigenous claims based on pre-contract rights to land, resources and, crucially, self-government, and the sovereign prerogatives claimed by liberal-democratic settler states. It is based on a number of key events in the political struggles of indigenous minorities in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States and is written to appeal to lawyers and jurists, particularly those working in Native Title law, philosophers, culture theorists and critical legal theorists.Dr Steven Curry is Research Fellow at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics, University of Melbourne, Australia. He previously worked at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics at Charles Sturt University, Australia.'This penetrating, provocative and accessible book demonstrates the connection between sovereignty and justice for indigenous l£E