Georgetown University LogoGeorgetown University Library LogoDigitalGeorgetown Home
    • Login
    View Item 
    •   DigitalGeorgetown Home
    • Georgetown University Institutional Repository
    • Georgetown College
    • Department of Government
    • Graduate Theses and Dissertations
    • Department of Government
    • View Item
    •   DigitalGeorgetown Home
    • Georgetown University Institutional Repository
    • Georgetown College
    • Department of Government
    • Graduate Theses and Dissertations
    • Department of Government
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Exile in America: Political Expulsion and the Limits of Liberal Government

    Cover for Exile in America: Political Expulsion and the Limits of Liberal Government
    View/Open
    View/Open: McGinnis_georgetown_0076D_12992.pdf (1.6MB) Bookview

    Creator
    McGinnis, Briana L.
    Advisor
    Boyd, Richard
    Abstract
    "Exile," as a concept, remains largely neglected by political theory. Of the few pieces addressing it, most approach exile as a phenomenon peculiar to ancient cultures, or as a tool of the illiberal, even authoritarian, regime. But a survey of American history indicates that although communities may not openly ostracize, outlaw, or exile, they have not suppressed the desire to purge their membership rolls. Rather, they have become more adept at disguising it, draping illiberal exile practices in the language of law, consent, and contract. Perhaps it is the complexity of defining, and consequently recognizing, exile in the twenty-first century that leads us to regard it as a fringe occurrence. Nonetheless, exile is alive and well in the present day.
     
    This project has three aims. First, to offer a working conception of "exile" that clears away rhetorical confusion and returns the idea to the realm of the political. I explore exile as a political phenomenon, wherein the coercive power of government is used to expel members from their home communities for purposes of membership control. Second, to demonstrate that although it may have taken on a more mundane appearance in the democratic age, exile still exists at the sub-national (and, less commonly, at the national) level. Finally, the project situates exile in the particular context of America, where it continues to thrive despite its seeming incompatibility with liberal commitments to individual rights.
     
    Analyzing specific cases of political expulsion, both historical and current, reveals the purposes exile serves in liberal communities. While exile is not necessarily incompatible with fundamental liberal commitments (an opinion expressed by liberal thinkers like Constant, Locke, Tocqueville, and Burke), the uses to which exile has been put in the United States do not meet commitments to toleration and equality. This is, perhaps, why political expulsions have been concealed in the depoliticizing contexts of criminal, administrative, and civil law. The continued existence of exile in America, and its concealment, reveals deep tensions within the idea of "liberal community," but also the persistence of a strong sense of community in twenty-first century America.
     
    Description
    Ph.D.
    Permanent Link
    http://hdl.handle.net/10822/760863
    Date Published
    2015
    Subject
    Banishment; Citizenship; Democratic Theory; Exile; Liberalism; Political Ethics; Political Science; Social sciences -- Research; Philosophy; Political Science; Social research; Philosophy;
    Type
    thesis
    Publisher
    Georgetown University
    Extent
    349 leaves
    Collections
    • Department of Government
    Metadata
    Show full item record

    Related items

    Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.

    • Thumbnail

      The Limits of Prevention 

      McGinnis, J. Michael (1985-06)
    Related Items in Google Scholar

    Georgetown University Seal
    ©2009 - 2022 Georgetown University Library
    37th & O Streets NW
    Washington DC 20057-1174
    202.687.7385
    digitalscholarship@georgetown.edu
    Accessibility
     

     

    Browse

    All of DigitalGeorgetownCommunities & CollectionsCreatorsTitlesBy Creation DateThis CollectionCreatorsTitlesBy Creation Date

    My Account

    Login

    Statistics

    View Usage Statistics

    Georgetown University Seal
    ©2009 - 2022 Georgetown University Library
    37th & O Streets NW
    Washington DC 20057-1174
    202.687.7385
    digitalscholarship@georgetown.edu
    Accessibility