Cosmopolitanism, occupancy and political self-determination

The brand of cosmopolitanism that Cécile Fabre develops in her excellent book, Cosmopolitan Peace, leaves room for qualifying groups to exercise political self-determination. Important questions thus emerge regarding who is entitled to have a say in the group’s self-determination, questions that take on a heightened practical urgency in the wake of wars that cause massive migration. In this article, I call into question Fabre’s contention that the descendants of unjust occupants necessarily acquire occupancy rights which entitle them to a say in the political self-determination over the territory on which they currently reside.