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Animals and the Right to Politics

Paperback by Donaldson, Sue (Independent Scholar); Kymlicka, Will (Canada Research Chair in Political Philosophy, Canada Research Chair in Political Philosophy, Queen's University)

Animals and the Right to Politics

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ISBN:
9780198989004
Publication Date:
11 Dec 2025
Language:
English
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
Pages:
352 pages
Format:
Paperback
For delivery:
Not yet available: due Dec-2025
Animals and the Right to Politics

Description

The assumption that only humans can engage in politics - that only humans are 'zoon politikon' - is foundational to the Western tradition of political philosophy. While there is increasing recognition of animals' moral status (both within moral philosophy and at the level of public opinion), animals are not recognized as political subjects. This carefully researched but accessibly written volume - following on from the authors' earlier book Zoopolis - argues that animals too have a right to politics: a right to be recognized as political subjects and agents, and as members of political communities entitled to collective self-determination. The book draws on recent scientific work on animal societies, cultures, and decision-making, as well as recent work by political theorists rethinking ideas of agency and community - especially the significance of emplaced and embodied encounters and relationships to the activity of politics. Sue Donaldson and Will Kymlicka draw a picture of what it would mean to create spaces and practices, not only for politics conducted by humans on behalf of animals, but also politics with and by animals on their own terms. It then explores how this approach could inform a wide range of contemporary debates in human-animal relations, including wildlife conservation, urban planning, and animal labour.

Contents

Acknowledgements Part A. Context 1: The Challenge: Political Exclusion 2: Political Wardship 3: Resistance 4: The Cosmopolitan Temptation Part B. Theory 5: Political Animals 6: Bounded Communities 7: Political Agency Part C. Applications 8: Animal Agora 9: Diplomacy in the Wild 10: Multispecies Commons 11: Conclusion: Realistic Utopias Notes Bibliography Index

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