Territory as a complex legal institute

an analysis based on subjects, subjectivities and territorialities

Abstract

https://doi.org/10.1590/2179-8966/2022/64355i

Territory is a legal institute central to Modern Law. In modernity it has been reduced to land, a neutral and universal physical unit, a good that can be traded on the market. Human Geography - especially with Milton Santos - has added complexity to space, showing that it is a social production, where life takes place. Territory has acquired a prominent epistemological status not only for Geography, but also for Law, becoming a central legal institute in the defense of different subjects and dignities. The objective of this article is to delve into the complex interdependence between subjects and territories, making an epistemological dive into this relationship, using the Cultural-Historical theory of subjectivity as a framework. Thus, the problem faced is: what epistemic deepening can the Cultural-Historical theory of subjectivity and human geography provide for the understanding of the legal institute of territory? It is hoped that the conclusions of this article might contribute to the effort to analyze territory as a complex legal institute, inseparable from its subjects and the defense of multiple dignities.

Keywords: Territory; Subject of Law; Historical Cultural Theory of Subjectivity.