Natural Law, Consent, and John Locke’s Foreign Policy

• In Event: Early Modern Republicanism

Abstract

This paper seeks to explicate John Locke’s arguments regarding foreign policy and international relations in the Two Treatises. I will argue that Locke’s understanding of social compact theory specifies that the purpose of government is to protect the natural rights of the members of the political community and that this limits the purpose of foreign policy to the protection of the body politic from external threats. This interpretation challenges scholars who argue that Locke’s principles support an interventionist understanding of foreign policy.

Author

• Michael Driscoll, Hillsdale College