Anna Stilz is a contemporary political philosopher at Princeton University whose work focuses on political authority, territorial rights, and nationalism. She draws on liberal and Kantian traditions to examine the moral foundations of state legitimacy, property rights, and the obligations citizens owe to political institutions. Her scholarship engages extensively with Lockean and social contract theory in defending accounts of democratic self-governance.
Developed a Kantian account of state legitimacy and political obligation in 'Liberal Loyalty' (2009)
Articulated a theory of territorial sovereignty grounded in individual rights rather than nationalist claims in 'Territorial Sovereignty' (2019)
Advanced Lockean arguments connecting representative institutions to legitimate property regulation and taxation
Contributed to debates on colonialism, indigenous rights, and restitution within analytic political philosophy
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