Theories of political legitimacy are concerned, in short, with states’ moral right to create and enforce laws and regulations, and to see these respected by their citizens. Of all available...Show moreTheories of political legitimacy are concerned, in short, with states’ moral right to create and enforce laws and regulations, and to see these respected by their citizens. Of all available theories of legitimacy, so-called consent theories are often taken to be a straightforward and convincing way of grounding such a right. Despite this advantage, many also argue that virtually no existing state secures the valid consent of its citizens, undermining the theories’ success in the real world. In face of such challenges, several thinkers have proposed various societal reforms to bring about widespread, valid consent, thereby safeguarding states’ legitimacy. The work at hand offers an overview of three of the most convincing so-called reformist consent theories and argues that all face serious challenges. It then argues that panarchy, a largely overlooked meta-political framework that defends a plurality of non-territorial states and that places citizen’s direct express consent at its core, successfully answers these challenges, gaining the theoretical upper hand over other reformist theories. It then concludes by assessing some of the strongest objections against panarchy, underlining the strengths and weaknesses of the theory, and spelling out venues for further research.Show less
