Abstract
The paper starts with a thesis on the dialectical structure of modern law that goes back to the European revolutionary tradition and constitutes a legal structure that is at once emancipatory and repressive. Once it became democratic, the modern nation state has solved more or less successfully the crises that have emerged in modern Europe since the sixteenth century. Yet, this state did not escape the dialectical snares of modern law and modern legal regimes. It’s greatest advance, the exclusion of inequalities, presupposed the exclusion of the internal other of blacks, workers, women, etc., and the other that stemmed from the non-European world that furthermore was under European colonial rule or other forms of European, North American, or Japanese imperial control. Yet, the wars and revolutions of the twentieth century led to a complete reconstruction, new foundation, and globalization of all national and international law. The evolutionary advance of the twentieth century was the emergence of world law, and this enabled the construction of international and national welfarism and the global expansion of the exclusion of inequalities. Nevertheless, the dialectic of enlightenment returned and led to new forms of post-national domination, hegemony, oppression, and exclusion. The final section of the paper tries to detect some ideas and principles for how to overcome the crisis.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
We’re sorry, something doesn't seem to be working properly.
Please try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, please contact support so we can address the problem.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
- 1.
- 2.
Rawls (1993).
- 3.
On the latter: Kesselring (1984).
- 4.
Berman (2006, 5 ff.).
- 5.
Law of collision or ‘Kollisionsrecht’ (Joerges, Teubner, Fischer-Lescano) has deep roots in Western constitutional law. One can describe this with Chantal Mouffe also as transformation from antagonism to agonism – if one keeps in mind (against Mouffe) the constitutive role of constitutional law in this transformational process.
- 6.
On the exclusion of inequalities as a condition of a successful nation-state see: Stichweh (2000, 52).
- 7.
This hangs together with the premises of the theory of the social contract, see: Kersting (2002).
- 8.
Article 35 of the concluding protocol of the Berlin Conference on West Africa on West Africa in 1884/85. See: Koskenniemi (2004, 126).
- 9.
The best point of a poor book is the thesis that neither old nor new notions of imperialism with a territorial centre make sense in a functionally differentiated world society and have to be replaced by a more and more de-territorialized and flexible kind of (systemic) hegemony: Hardt and Negri on Empire (2000). For a much better account the systemic transformation of hegemony: Fischer-Lescano and Teubner (2005); Buckel (2007); for an interesting thesis on the emergence of a new and imperial world state see: Chimni (2004).
- 10.
- 11.
- 12.
- 13.
Brunkhorst (2008b, 30–63 and 37).
- 14.
- 15.
- 16.
- 17.
- 18.
Luhmann (1981a); Berman (1963, esp. 277 ff.). On an astonishing and peculiar parallel between the Soviet educational law and the Puritan codex of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the “Body of Liberties” of 1641, see: Berman (1991, 64 ff.). Concerning the beginning in the 1930s, see Joerges and Ghaleigh (2003).
- 19.
For a more comprehensive overview: Brunkhorst (2008a).
- 20.
Streek (2005). As we now can see, the talk about late capitalism was not wrong but should be restricted to state-embedded capitalism, and state embedded capitalism indeed is over. But what then came was not socialism but global disembedded capitalism which seems to be as far from state embedded capitalism of the old days as from socialism.
- 21.
There Will Be Blood, USA 2007, Director: Paul Thomas Anderson. One-sided but in this point striking the neo-Pashukanian analysis of international law by Mieville (2005).
- 22.
On transnational administrative during the last few years a whole industry of research emerged, see only: Tietje (2003), Möllers (2005a), Krisch and Kingsbury (2006), Kingsbury et al. (2005), Möllers et al. (2007), Fischer-Lescano (2008). On the globalization of executive power: Wolf (2000), Dobner (2006), Lübbe-Wolf (2008).
- 23.
For the thesis that the UN-Charter is the one and only constitution of the global legal and political order, see: Fassbender (1998). Different approaches in: Bogdandy (2003), Albert and Stichweh (2007), Bogdandy (2006), Brunkhorst (2002), Brunkhorst (2005a); For the thesis of constitutional pluralism see: Teubner (2003).
- 24.
For the original version of this thesis: Brunkhorst (2002).
- 25.
[Reform according to Principles. –Ed. Trans.].
- 26.
- 27.
- 28.
Von Bernstorff (2008, 167–90, at 181).
- 29.
Von Bernstorff (2001).
- 30.
- 31.
- 32.
- 33.
Kelsen ([1920] 1981).
- 34.
Möllers (2001, 423).
- 35.
- 36.
Möllers (2008b, 160–82).
- 37.
Habermas (1992, 170 and 492–3).
- 38.
Kantorowicz (1957).
- 39.
- 40.
Democratic legitimization is inclusive because it governed by the one and only constitutional principle of democracy, and that is the principle of self-legislation or autonomy. This principle is socially inclusive because it presupposes that a procedure of legitimization that is democratic has to include everybody who is concerned by legislation and jurisdiction. Consequently, all exceptions (e.g. babies) have to be justified publicly and need compensation through human rights; cf.; Müller (1997, 76), Marks (2000).
- 41.
Marks (2000).
- 42.
Ibid., 103, 149.
- 43.
‘All men’ can mean many different things, e.g. all men in a bus, all men on German territory, all men with US passports (which is far less than all US citizens), all men on the globe, all men in the universe, all men who are French citizens, all men who are addressed by a certain legal norm. Democracy and democratic legitimization is only concerned with the last two meanings, and the possible tension between them.
References
Albert, M. and R. Stichweh. 2007. Weltstaat und Weltstaatlichkeit. Wiesbaden: Westdeutscher Verlag.
Anghie, A. 2005. Imperialism, sovereignty and the making of international law. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Bast, J. 2008. Das Demokratiedefizit fragmentierter Internationalisierung. In Demokratie in der Weltgesellschaft, Soziale Welt Sonderheft, ed. H. Brunkhorst. Baden-Baden: Nomos.
Beck, U. and E. Grande. 2004.Das kosmopolitische Europa. Gesellschaft und Politik in der Zweiten Moderne. Frankfurt: Suhrkamp.
Berman, H.J. 1963. Justice in the USSR. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Berman, H.J. 1991. Recht und revolution. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.
Berman, H.J. 2006. Law and revolution II: The impact of the protestant reformation on the Western legal tradition. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Brandom, R. 1994. Making it explicit. Reasoning, representing & discursive commitment. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Brunkhorst, H. 2002. Globalising democracy without a state: Weak public, strong public, global constitutionalism. Millenium: Journal of International Studies 31(3): 675–690.
Brunkhorst, H. 2005a. Demokratie in der globalen Rechtsgenossenschaft, Zeitschrift für Soziologie, Sonderheft Weltgesellschaft, 330–348.
Brunkhorst, H. 2005b. Solidarity. From civic friendship to a global legal community. Cambridge: The MIT Press.
Brunkhorst, H. 2008a. Die Globale Rechtsrevolution. Von der Evolution der Verfassungsrevolution zur Revolution der Verfassungsevolution? In Rechtstheorie in rechtspraktischer Absicht, ed. R. Christensen and B. Pieroth, 9–34. Berlin: Dunker & Humblot/FS Müller.
Brunkhorst, H. 2008b. Kritik am Dualismus des internationalen Recht – Hans Kelsen und die Völkerrechtsrevolution des 20. Jahrhunderts. In Verrechtlichung internationaler Politik, ed. R. Kreide and A. Niederberger, 30–63. Frankfurt am Main: Campus.
Brunkhorst, H. 2008c. Democratic solidarity under pressure of global forces: Religion, capitalism and public power. Distinktion Scandinavian Journal of Social Theory 17: 167–189.
Brunkhorst, H. 2009. There will be blood. Konstitutionalisierung Ohne Demokratie? In Demokratie in der Weltgesellschaft, ed. H. Brunkhorst. Baden-Baden: Nomos.
Buckel, S. 2007. Subjektivierung und Kohäsion. Zur Rekonstruktion einer materialistischen Theorie des Rechts. Weilerswist: Velbrück Wissenschaft.
Byers, M. 2003. Preemptive self-defense. The Journal of Political Philosophy 2: 171–190.
Calhoun, C. 2002. The class consciousness of frequent travelers. The South Atlantic Quarterly 4: 869–897.
Calhoun, C. 2005. Cosmopolitism and belonging, Vortrag 37. Stockholm: World Congress International Institute of Sociology.
Calhoun, C. 2009. ‘Belonging’ in the cosmopolitan imaginary. Ethnicities 3(4): 531–553.
Chimni, B.S. 2004. International Institutions today: An imperial global state in the making. European Journal of International Law 15/1: 1–37.
Conrad, J. 2005. Heart of darkness. New York: Norton Critical Edition.
Dahrendorf, R. 2000. Citizenship and social class. In Citizenship today: The contemporary relevance of T.H. Marshall, ed. M. Bulmer and A.M. Rees, 25–48. London: Routledge.
Döbert, R., J. Habermas, and G. Nunner-Winkler (eds.). 1980. Entwicklung des Ichs. Königstein: Anton Hain.
Dobner, P. 2006. Did the state fail? Zur Transnationalisierung und Privatisierung der öffentlichen Daseinsvorsorge: Die Reform der globalen Trinkwasserpolitik. Available at: http://www.dvpw.de/dummy/fileadmin/docs/2006xDobner.pdf
Fassbender, B. 1998. The united nations charter as constitution of the international community. Columbia Journal of Transnational Law 36: 529–619.
Fischer-Lescano, A. 2008. Transnationales Verwaltungsecht. Juristen-Zeitung 8: 373–383.
Fischer-Lescano, A., and G. Teubner. 2005. Regime-Kollisionen. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.
Fraenkel, E., and A. von Brünneck. 2001. Der Doppelstaat. Hamburg: Europäische Verlagsanstalt.
Grimm, D. (ed.). 1990. Wachsende Staatsaufgaben sinkende Steuerungsfähigkeit des Rechts. Baden-Baden: Nomos.
Grimm, D. 1991. Der Wandel der Staatsaufgaben und die Krise des Rechtsstaats. In Die Zukunft der Verfassung, ed. D. Grimm, 159–175. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.
Habermas, J. 1992. Faktizität und Geltung. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.
Habermas, J. 1997. Wahrheit und Rechtfertigung. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.
Hardt, M., and A. Negri. 2000. Empire. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Hegel, G.W.F. 2001 [1821]. Philosophy of right (trans: Dyde, S.W.). Kitchener: Batoche Books.
Joerges, C., and N.S. Ghaleigh (eds.). 2003. Darker legacies of law in Europe. The shadow of national socialism and fascism over Europe and its legal traditions. Oxford: Hart.
Kant, I. [1870] 1996. Metaphysics of morals. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kantorowicz, E.H. 1957. The king’s two bodies. Princeton: University Press.
Kelsen, H. [1920], 1981. Vom Wert der Demokratie. Aalen: Scientia.
Kelsen, H. [1925], 1993. Allgemeine Staatslehre. Wien: Österreichische Staatsdruckerei.
Kelsen, H. [1934], 1967. Reine Rechtslehre. Wien: Österreichische Staatsdruckerei.
Kersting, W. 2002. Thomas Hobbes zur Einfürung. Hamburg: Junius Verlag.
Kesselring, T. 1984. Die Produktivität der Antinomie. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.
Kingsbury, B. Krisch, N. and Steward, R. B. 2005. The emergence of global administrative law. Available at: http://law.duke.edu/journals/lcp
Koskenniemi, M. 2004. The gentle civilizer of nations. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Krisch, N. and Kingsbury, B. 2006. Symposium: Global governance and global administrative law in the international legal order. European Journal of International Law 17/1: 1–13.
Krücken, G., and W.J. Meyer. 2005. Weltkultur: Wie die westlichen Prinzipien die Welt durchdringen. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.
Leisering, L. 2007. Gibt es einen Weltwohlfahrtsstaat? In Weltstaat und Weltstaatlichkeit, ed. M. Albert and R. Stichweh, 185–205. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag.
Lübbe-Wolf, G. 2008. Die Internationalisierung der Politik und der Machtverlust der Parlamente. In Demokratie in der Weltgesellschaft, ed. H. Brunkhorst. Baden-Baden: Nomos.
Luhmann, N. 1971. Weltgesellschaft. Archiv für Rechts und Sozialphilosophie 57: 1–35.
Luhmann, N. 1981. Politische Theorie im Wohlfahrtsstaat. München: Olzog.
Luhmann, N. 1983. Legitimation durch Verfahren. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.
Luhmann, N. 1998. Die Gesellschaft der Gesellschaft. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.
Marks, S. 2000. The riddle of all constitutions. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Marx, K. [1842] 1988.Verhandlungen des 6. Rheinischen Landtags. Debatten über das Holzdiebstahlsgesetz. Berlin: Dietz.
Maurer, H. 2006. Allgemeines Verwaltungsrecht. Munich: Beck.
Maus, I. 1992. Zur Aufklärung der Demokratietheorie. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.
Merkl, A. 1927. Allgemeines Verwaltungsrecht. Wien: Springer.
Merkl, A. 1968. Prolegomena zu einer Theorie des rechtlichen Stufenbaus. In Adolf Merkl und die Wiener rechtstheoretische Schule, ed. H. Klecatsky, R. Marcic, and H. Schambeck. Wien: Europa Verlag.
Meyer, W.J. 1997. World society and the nation-state. The American Journal of Sociology 103(1): 144–181.
Mieville, C. 2005. Between equal rights: A marxist theory of international law. London: Haymarket.
Möllers, C. 2001. Staat als Argument. München: Beck.
Möllers, C. 2005a. Transnationale Behördenkooperation. ZaöRV 65: 351–389.
Möllers, C. 2005b. Gewaltengliederung: Legitimation und Dogmatik im internationalen Rechtsvergleich. Tübingen: Mohr.
Möllers, C. 2008a. Demokratie – Zumutungen und Versprechen. Berlin: Wagenbach.
Möllers, C. 2008b. Expressive vs. repräsentative Demokratie. In Verrechtlichung transnationaler politik. Nationale Demokration in kontext globaler politik, ed. R. Kreide and A. Niederberger. Frankfurt am Main: Campus.
Möllers, C., A. Voßkuhle, and C. Walter (eds.). 2007. Internationalisierung des Verwaltungsrecht. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck.
Müller, F. 1997. Wer ist das Volk? Eine Grundfrage der Demokratie, Elemente einer Verfassungstheorie VI. Berlin: Duncker & Humblot.
Neumann, F. 1937. Der Funktionswandel des Gesetzes im Recht der bürgerlichen Gesellschaft. Zeitschrift für Sozialforschung 6: 542–596.
Neves, M. 2000. Zwischen Themis und Leviathan. Baden-Baden: Nomos.
Oeter, S. 2008. Prekäre Staatlichkeit und die Grenzen internationaler Verrechtlichung. In Verrechtlichung internationaler Politik. Ende oder Neubeginn der Demokratie? ed. R. Kreide and A. Niederberger, 90–114. Frankfurt am Main: Campus.
Parsons, t., and G. Platt. 1990. Die amerikanische Universität: Ein Beitrag zur Soziologie der Erkenntnis. Frankfurt: Suhrkamp.
Parsons, T. 1969. Order and community in the international social system. In International politics and foreign policy, ed. J.N. Rosenau. New York: The Free Press.
Parsons, T., and G.M. Platt. 2006. Die amerikanische Universität. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.
Rawls, J. 1993. Political liberalism. New York: Columbia.
Reinhard, W. 1999. Geschichte der Staatsgewalt. München: Beck.
Rorty, R. 1980. Philosophy and the mirror of nature. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Rorty, R. 1993. Human rights, rationality, and sentimentality. In On human rights. Oxford Amnesty lectures, ed. S. Shute and S.L. Hurley. New York: Basic Books.
Rosa, H. 2006. The universal underneath the multiple: Social acceleration as the key to understanding modernity. In The plurality of modernity: Decentering sociology, ed. S. Costa, J.M. Domingues, W. Knöbel, and J.P. da Silva, 22–42. München: Hampp.
Roy, O. 2006.Der islamistische Wegnach Westen. Globalisierung, Entwurzelung und Radikalisierung. München: Pantheon.
Seagle, W. 1941. The quest of law. New York: Knopf.
Stichweh, R. 2000. Die Weltgesellschaft. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.
Streek, W. 2005. Sectoral specialization: Politics and the nation state in a global economy. Paper presented at the 37th World Congress of the International Institute of Sociology, Stockholm.
Sunstein, C. 1993. After the rights revolution. Reconceiving the regulatory state. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Teubner, G. 2003. Globale Zivilverfassungen: Alternativen zur staatszentrierten Verfassungstheorie. ZaöRV 63(1): 1–28.
Tietje, C. 2003. Die Staatsrechtslehre und die Veränderung ihres Gegenstandes. Deutsches Verwaltungsblatt 17: 1081–1164.
von Bernstorff, J. 2001. Der Glaube an das universale Recht: zur Völkerrechtstheorie Hans Kelsens und seiner Schüler. Baden-Baden: Nomos.
von Bernstorff, J. 2008. Kelsen und das Völkerrecht. In Rechts-Staat. Staat, international Gemeinschaft und Völkerrecht bei Hans Kelsen, ed. H. Brunkhorst and R. Voigt. Baden-Baden: Nomos.
von Bogdandy, A. 2003. Europäisches Verfassungsrecht. Berlin: Springer.
von Bogdandy, A. 2006. Constitutionalism in international law. Harvard International Law Journal 47/1: 223–242.
Wolf, K.D. 2000. Die neue Staatsräson – Zwischenstaatliche Kooperation als Demokratieproblem der Weltgesellschaft. Baden-Baden: Nomos.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Brunkhorst, H. (2012). Dialectical Snares: Human Rights and Democracy in the World Society. In: Corradetti, C. (eds) Philosophical Dimensions of Human Rights. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2376-4_11
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2376-4_11
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-007-2375-7
Online ISBN: 978-94-007-2376-4
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawPhilosophy and Religion (R0)