Divided against itself: plural sovereignties and the Australian state

This chapter examines how the prior occupation of Indigenous peoples compromises the acquisition of sovereignty over Australia and undermines the integrity of its governing institutions. It explains why the principle of terra nullius provides an unstable basis for the polity and how an adherence to conventional notions of sovereignty prevents it from developing a lawful relationship with First Nations. The chapter concludes by arguing for a more relational conception of political community in which Indigenous sovereignty is not suppressed out of fear of division.