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Paper short abstract

This paper examines how the ecological and climate crisis reshapes law and sovereignty. It argues that the classical liberal state faces a legitimacy crisis and must move beyond property-centered frameworks toward ecological security, redefining the rule of law within ecological limits.

Paper long abstract

The ecological crisis of the Anthropocene fundamentally challenges the ontological foundations and the concept of sovereignty upon which modern state theory is built. This study examines the legitimacy crisis of the property-oriented and passive “neutral arbiter” role of the classical liberal state in the face of transboundary environmental destruction and planetary risk. Reinterpreting Locke’s property-centered state, Hobbes’s security-oriented Leviathan, and Rousseau’s general will through an ecological lens, the paper highlights the need for conceptual transformations such as the “Eco-Leviathan” and the “Ecological General Will.” Drawing on recent advisory opinions and evolving jurisprudence, it argues that the state’s duty to protect has expanded from a domestic positive obligation into a global erga omnes responsibility grounded in intergenerational legitimacy and ecological stewardship. The analysis demonstrates that ecological degradation destabilizes traditional sovereignty by exposing its territorial limits and its anthropocentric bias. Ultimately, the study contends that the raison d’être of the state is undergoing a mandatory paradigm shift from property security toward ecological security, requiring the rule of law to be redefined within planetary boundaries and principles of ecological justice.