Sovereignty in Fragments
The Past, Present and Future of a Contested Concept

A broad overview of the nature and contemporary significance of the concept of sovereignty.

Hent Kalmo (Edited by), Quentin Skinner (Edited by)

9781107679399, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 6 March 2014

280 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.5 cm, 0.38 kg

'For anyone interested in seeing the concept of sovereignty fold into the different forms imposed by rival practices and theories, and assume the different functions ascribed in those competing constructions, this collection offers a dazzling range of perspectives.' Philip Pettit, Princeton University

The political make-up of the contemporary world changes with such rapidity that few attempts have been made to consider with adequate care, the nature and value of the concept of sovereignty. What exactly is meant when one speaks about the acquisition, preservation, infringement or loss of sovereignty? This book revisits the assumptions underlying the applications of this fundamental category, as well as studying the political discourses in which it has been embedded. Bringing together historians, constitutional lawyers, political philosophers and experts in international relations, Sovereignty in Fragments seeks to dispel the illusion that there is a unitary concept of sovereignty of which one could offer a clear definition. This book will appeal to scholars and advanced students of international relations, international law and the history of political thought.

Introduction: a concept in fragments Hent Kalmo and Quentin Skinner
1. The sovereign state: a genealogy Quentin Skinner
2. The apparition of sovereignty Denis Baranger
3. The Westphalian myth and the idea of external sovereignty Pärtel Piirimäe
4. Double binds: sovereignty and the just war tradition Jens Bartelson
5. The durability of organized hypocrisy Stephen D. Krasner
6. A matter of fact? The many faces of sovereignty Hent Kalmo
7. The survival of sovereignty Michel Troper
8. Sovereignty and after Neil MacCormick
9. Prolegomena for the post-sovereign Rechtsstaat Patrick Praet
10. Sovereignty beyond the state Jüri Lipping
11. Sovereignty between government, exception and governance Antonio Negri
12. Conclusion: vocabularies of sovereignty: the powers of a paradox Martti Koskenniemi.

Subject Areas: Public international law [LBB], International relations [JPS], Politics & government [JP], History of ideas [JFCX], Social & political philosophy [HPS]