Globalization and Sovereignty

Reviews / Votes

'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.' Grainne de Burca, Global Law Books