Abstract

"Under pressure from globalization, the classical distinction between domestic and international law has become increasingly blurred, spurring demand for new paradigms to construe the emerging postnational legal order. The typical response of constitutional and international lawyers, as well as political theorists, has been to extend domestic concepts - especially constitutionalism - beyond the state. Yet as this book argues, proposals for postnational constitutionalism not only fail to provide a plausible account of the changing shape of postnational law but also fall short as a normative vision. They either dilute constitutionalism's origins and appeal to 'fit' the postnational space, or they create tensions with the radical diversity of postnational society. This book explores an alternative, pluralist vision of postnational law. Pluralism does no rely on an overarching legal framework but is characterized by the heterarchical interaction of various suborders of different levels - an interaction that is governed by a multiplicity of conflict rules whose mutual relationship remains legally open. A pluralist model can account for the fragmented structure of the European and global legal orders and it reflects the competing (and often equally legitimate) claims for control of postnational politics."--Back cover

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