ABSTRACT

A lack of voluntariness renders a person’s consent invalid. This chapter will pursue a conception of voluntariness which focuses on coercion between persons (setting aside the general relationship of voluntary consent and coercion with regard to the legitimate authority of the state), and in doing so it will make the case for a specific normative conception of voluntariness and coercion that does 212not refer to the preanalytic image of “coercion” as mere psychological pressure or the difficulty of one’s choices: A’s proposal is coercive – and hence nullifies the transformative power of consent on grounds of coercion – if and only if A proposes to violate B’s rights (or fails to fulfil a rights-based obligation to B) should B reject A’s proposal. Voluntariness as a normative notion is a binary concept; a token of consent is either voluntary or it is not.