Law without nations? : why constitutional government requires sovereign states / Jeremy A. Rabkin.

Format:

• Book

Author/Creator:

• Rabkin, Jeremy A.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

• Sovereignty.
• Constitutional law.
• Globalization.
• United States--Foreign relations--Europe.
• United States.
• International relations.
• Europe.
• Europe--Foreign relations--United States.

Physical Description:

350 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, [2005]

Summary:

• When and to what extent should the United States participate in the international legal system? This forcefully argued book by legal scholar Jeremy Rabkin provides an insightful new look at this important question.
• Americans have long debated whether the United States should join forces with institutions such as the International Criminal Court and the Kyoto Protocol. Rabkin argues that the value of international agreements in such circumstances must be weighed against the threat they pose to liberties protected by strong national authority and institutions. He maintains that the protection of these liberties could be fatally weakened if we go too far in ceding authority to international institutions that might not be zealous in protecting the rights Americans deem important. Similarly, any cessation of authority might leave Americans far less attached to the resulting hybrid legal system than they now are to laws they can regard as their own.
• The book begins by reviewing the philosophic roots of American doctrine, which follow from the basic premises of liberal political thought: only a sovereign state can make and enforce law in a reliable way, so only a sovereign state can reliably protect the rights of its citizens. It then contrasts the American experience with that of the European Union, showing the difficulties that can arise from efforts to merge national legal systems with supranational schemes. In practice, international human rights law generates a cloud of rhetoric that does little to secure human rights, and in fact, is at odds with American principles, Rabkin concludes.
• A challenging and important contribution to the current debates about the meaning of multilateralism and international law, Law without Nations? will appeal to a broad cross-section of scholars in both the legal and political science arenas.

Contents:

• Chapter 1 Introduction: By Our Own Lights 1
• Chapter 2 Global Governance or Constitutional Government? 18
• Chapter 3 The Constitutional Logic of Sovereignty 45
• Chapter 4 The Enlightenment and the Law of Nations 71
• Chapter 5 Diplomacy of Independence 98
• Chapter 6 A World Safe for Eurogovernance 130
• Chapter 7 The Human Rights Crusade 158
• Chapter 8 Is Sovereignty Traded in Trade Agreements? 193
• Chapter 9 American Independence and the Opinions of Mankind 233.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [271]-343) and index.

ISBN:

0691095302

OCLC:

54685658