Reciprocity, Boundaries, and Regression

On Ferrara’s Sovereignty Across Generations

Abstract

This article critically examines Alessandro Ferrara's theory of sequential sovereignty in "Sovereignty Across Generations," focusing on three central problems. First, it challenges the principle of vertical reciprocity, arguing that future generations cannot be genuine parties to reciprocal agreements since they do not yet exist. This creates a fundamental asymmetry: present generations can commit to obligations toward the future, but cannot bind future generations to reciprocate, potentially transforming sequential sovereignty into a form of temporal domination rather than democratic self-legislation. Second, the article identifies an intergenerational boundary problem: if present generations unilaterally determine membership criteria and territorial boundaries, future generations inherit constraints that undermine their status as "free and equal." Third, it examinines the case of  the Warren Court's civil rights expansion versus the Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade, and discusses Ferrara's framework in relation to progressive from regressive forms of constitutional change.