Foreign affairs cannot be governed by fixed antecedent laws

Evidence

These two powers, executive and federative, though they be really distinct in themselves, yet one comprehending the execution of the municipal laws of the society within its self, upon all that are parts of it; the other the management of the security and interest of the public without, with all those that it may receive benefit or damage from, yet they are always almost united. And though this federative power in the well or ill management of it be of great moment to the commonwealth, yet it is much less capable to be directed by antecedent, standing, positive laws, than the executive; and so must necessarily be left to the prudence and wisdom of those, whose hands it is in, to be managed for the public good: for the laws that concern subjects one amongst another, being to direct their actions, may well enough precede them. But what is to be done in reference to foreigners, depending much upon their actions, and the variation of designs and interests, must be left in great part to the prudence of those, who have this power committed to them, to be managed by the best of their skill, for the advantage of the commonwealth. — John Locke, Second Treatise of Government, 184

Categorization

• XREF: This prefigures the ‘foreign affairs exception’ to legal rules and the executive’s claimed plenary power over foreign policy in American constitutional practice. — connects to: Executive discretion beyond statute is justified by law’s unavoidable incompleteness — John Locke, Second Treatise of Government, 197; Entire commonwealths remain in the state of nature relative to outsiders — John Locke, Second Treatise of Government, 182; Unprecedented power cannot be constrained by law made before it exists — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 1637 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Unprecedented power cannot be constrained by law made before it exists #corroborates (0.85) — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 1637
• Domestic and foreign policy are organically linked, not separable #expands (0.75) — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 982