Abstract

This chapter aims to deliver an account of Kant’s cosmopolitan approach to the right of mobility focusing on the disparate scope this author assigns, on the one hand, to state sovereignty and, on the other, to the model of “sovereignty” shared in common by all human beings on the earth. I intend first to argue for a Kant-inspired normative theory of borders that does not legitimate any symbolic or material violence. Second, I will address Kant’s use of the role that borders are supposed to fulfill in the field of knowledge and on political philosophy. Third, I will parse out some flaws in Kant’s view of global human cohabitation in his theory of right. Fourth, I will break down the role that non-state people fulfill in Kant’s political philosophy for civilizing the role of borders. Finally, I will sketch the empirical traits of Kant’s ideal world traveler.