Right to exist

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The right to exist is a concept in political philosophy and international relations referring to a claimed right of a state (or nation) to exist based on its perceived political legitimacy. A state's right to exist is neither codified in international law nor, with some exceptions, recognized as a distinct legal category by the majority of international-law scholarship. A doctrine of fundamental rights of states — including a right to political existence, self-preservation, and continuity — was widely discussed among international lawyers from the 18th century onward. A proposed right to exist was considered but ultimately excluded from the International Law Commission's 1949 draft Declaration on Rights and Duties of States, and the draft declaration itself was never adopted by the UN General Assembly. In his 1882 essay "What Is a Nation?", French philosopher Ernest Renan argued that a nation possesses the right to exist so long as its members demonstrate a willingness to make sacrifices for the community it represents, describing it as a "daily plebiscite." The phrase has featured prominently with regard to the legitimacy of the State of Israel in the context of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.