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Sovereignty in Action
Sovereignty, originally the figure of 'sovereign', then the state, today meets new challenges of globalization and privatization of power.
After Kant
Tracing the origins of modern political thought through three sets of arguments over history, morality, and freedom In this wide-ranging work, Michael Sonenscher traces the origins of modern political thought and ideologies to a question, raised by Immanuel Kant, about what is involved in comparing individual human lives to the whole of human history. How can we compare them, or understand the results of the comparison? Kant’s question injected a new, future-oriented dimension into existing discussions of prevailing norms, challenging their orientation toward the past. This reversal made Kant’s question a bridge between three successive sets of arguments: between the supporters of the an...
When the People Rule
This volume re-examines popular sovereignty, a vital principle of modern politics jeopardized by deepening polarization and the global rise of authoritarian populism. Eighteen cutting-edge contributions from scholars and practitioners engage with the dilemmas of popular sovereignty through interdisciplinary approaches and perspectives.
Divine Democracy
Liberal democracies assume neutrality toward the religious beliefs of its citizens; the legal system is supposed to determine guilt or innocence without religious prejudice. First coined by Carl Schmitt, political theology questions these widely held assumptions. It describes how political and legal concepts were derived from theological ones, dissolving the connection between the public sphere and secularism. In this intellectual history, Miguel Vatter reconstructs how and why the discourse of political theology was adopted and repurposed by anti-Schmitian thinkers to bolster the legitimacy of liberal democratic government. Ultimately he shows to what extent contemporary democracy rests on theological assumptions. Book jacket.
The Intellectual Origins of the Belgian Revolution
This book explores the political ideas of the Belgian Revolution of 1830, which led to the break-up of the Restoration state of the ‘united’ Kingdom of the Netherlands. It uncovers the origins of liberalism and political Catholicism in the Southern Netherlands in the wake of the French Revolution, and traces the development of political language in the context of the tensions between the Northern and Southern part of the united Netherlands. It shows how differences in ‘Dutch’ and ‘Belgian’ political and intellectual history resulted in different understandings of essential political concepts such as ‘sovereignty’ and ‘balance of powers’, as well as of the nature of the constitutional order of 1815. Finally, it traces the emergence of Belgian nationalism within the discourse of opposition against the government. Stefaan Marteel therefore provides a fresh perspective on the intellectual background of the rise of the nation-state in the nineteenth century.
Global Climate Constitutionalism “from below”
Global climate constitutionalism is seen as a possible legal answer to the social and political unwillingness of states to effectively tackle climate change as a global problem. The constitutionalisation of international climate law is supposed to ensure greater participation of non-state actors such as NGOs or individuals and a rollback of state sovereignty where states do not care about meeting their climate commitments. This book addresses the question of whether non-state actors such as NGOs or individuals create international climate law through so-called climate change litigation. Against the background of Peter Häberle's theory of the “open society of constitutional interpreters”, four selected cases (Urgenda v Netherlands, Leghari v Pakistan, Juliana v United States of America, Future Generations v Colombia) are used to examine how actors not formally recognized as subjects of international law (re)interpret national and international law and thereby contribute to the constitutionalisation of the international climate law regime.
Human Extinction
This volume traces the origins and evolution of the idea of human extinction, from the ancient Presocratics through contemporary work on "existential risks." Many leading intellectuals agree that the risk of human extinction this century may be higher than at any point in our 300,000-year history as a species. This book provides insight on the key questions that inform this discussion, including when humans began to worry about their own extinction and how the debate has changed over time. It establishes a new theoretical foundation for thinking about the ethics of our extinction, arguing that extinction would be very bad under most circumstances, although the outcome might be, on balance, good. Throughout the book, graphs, tables, and images further illustrate how human choices and attitudes about extinction have evolved in Western history. In its thorough examination of humanity’s past, this book also provides a starting point for understanding our future. Although accessible enough to be read by undergraduates, Human Extinction contains new and thought-provoking research that will benefit even established academic philosophers and historians.
Religion, Nation and Democracy in the South Caucasus
This book explores developments in the three major societies of the South Caucasus – Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia – focusing especially on religion, historical traditions, national consciousness, and political culture, and on how these factors interact. It outlines how, despite close geographical interlacement, common historical memories and inherited structures, the three countries have deep differences; and it discusses how development in all three nations has differed significantly from the countries’ declared commitments to democratic orientation and European norms and values. The book also considers how external factors and international relations continue to impact on the three countries.
Tocqueville's Dilemmas, and Ours
How Tocqueville’s ideas can help us build resilient liberal democracies in a divided world How can today’s liberal democracies withstand the illiberal wave sweeping the globe? What can revive our waning faith in constitutional democracy? Tocqueville’s Dilemmas, and Ours argues that Alexis de Tocqueville, one of democracy’s greatest champions and most incisive critics, can guide us forward. Drawing on Tocqueville’s major works and lesser-known policy writings, Ewa Atanassow shines a bright light on the foundations of liberal democracy. She argues that its prospects depend on how we tackle three dilemmas that were as urgent in Tocqueville’s day as they are in ours: how to instituti...
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
This is a book about the political thought of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Its aim is to explain why, for Rousseau, thinking about politics – whether as democratic sovereignty, representative government, institutionalised power, imaginative vision or a moment of decision – lay at the heart of what he called his “grand, sad system.” This book tracks the gradual emergence of the various components of that system and describes the connections between them. The result is a new and fresh interpretation of one of Europe’s most famous political thinkers, showing why Rousseau can be seen as one of the first theorists of the modern concept of civil society and a key source of the problematic modern idea of a federal system.
