Globalization and Sovereignty: Rethinking Legality, Legitimacy, and Constitutionalism - Softcover

Cohen, Jean L.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0521148456 ISBN 13: 9780521148450

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2012

Synopsis

Sovereignty and the sovereign state are often seen as anachronisms; Globalization and Sovereignty challenges this view. Jean L. Cohen analyzes the new sovereignty regime emergent since the 1990s evidenced by the discourses and practice of human rights, humanitarian intervention, transformative occupation, and the UN targeted sanctions regime that blacklists alleged terrorists. Presenting a systematic theory of sovereignty and its transformation in international law and politics, Cohen argues for the continued importance of sovereign equality. She offers a theory of a dualistic world order comprised of an international society of states, and a global political community in which human rights and global governance institutions affect the law, policies, and political culture of sovereign states. She advocates the constitutionalization of these institutions, within the framework of constitutional pluralism. This book will appeal to students of international political theory and law, political scientists, sociologists, legal historians, and theorists of constitutionalism.

About this title

Review:

'Jean Cohen presents a comprehensive critical account of the emerging global system of politics and law animated by the question of the fate and future of democratic autonomy. Her answer is a powerful theory of a 'dualistic' international order balancing the principles of sovereign equality and human rights. A must-read for anyone concerned about the possibilities of democracy in today's and tomorrow's world.' Rainer Forst, University of Frankfurt

'Starting from a robust normative conception of political freedom and a deft command of relevant political and legal events, theories, and debates, then deploying an exceptional talent for refined conceptual modeling and critical analysis, Cohen carves out a space for a unique and clarifying version of a state-sovereignty-conserving, constitutional-pluralist reorientation of ideas.' Frank Michelman, Robert Walmsley University Professor, Harvard University, Massachusetts

'Jean Cohen's book is a rare combination: a legal treatise that is also a political theory. Her analysis of the UN charter and of UN resolutions is cogent and illuminating; her advocacy of constitutional pluralism as the critical feature of global governance is exhilarating.' Michael Walzer, Professor Emeritus, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton

'A powerful defense of the culture of sovereign equality within a changed United Nations system. The author develops her thought-provoking critical analysis of constitutional change from the leading questions [of] whether human rights and sovereignty are antithetical and whether, therefore, the discourse of sovereignty is to be replaced by global governance talk. The conundrum of the seeming incompatibility of state sovereignty and the constitutionalization of international law and international organizations is countered by her proposal to democratize the UN system. This approach ultimately endorses a dualistic world order, yet it works with the idea of constitutional pluralism. The book's message is that following the proposed approach, [in] the long-run, the UN system and its rights culture will prevail, albeit encompassing a broad range of actors. A must-read for everybody interested in the debates about global constitutionalism.' Antje Wiener, University of Hamburg and editor of Global Constitutionalism

'Jean Cohen's Globalization and Sovereignty is the most comprehensive treatment that I have read of pluralist constitutionalism at a global level. The work is inspired by the awareness, on the one hand, of problems of legitimacy that relate to the operation of international governance bodies, and, on the other, of the dangers of capture of international projects by specialized interests. The book takes a refreshing distance from cosmopolitan efforts to do away with sovereignty, and recognizes the great value autonomous self-determining communities have, seeking to weave the considerations into a moderate pluralist constitutional agenda.' Martti Koskenniemi, International Journal of Constitutional Law

'... this book is a very impressive achievement and well worth reading by anyone interested in the debates on global governance, international law and constitutionalism, and reform of the UN system. The author does a superb job in weaving together some of the diffuse and often somewhat inaccessible bodies of literature that together present the complex picture of scholarly understandings of the future of global governance.' Gráinne de Búrca, Global Law Books

Book Description:

This book seeks to show that human rights and sovereign equality are not antithetical but two key principles of our current dualistic international political system and that both are needed for a more just, legitimate and effective version of that system.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0521148456
• ISBN 13: 9780521148450
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 456