Legal Republicanism

National and International Perspectives

Edited by Samantha Besson and José Luis Martí

Offers the first overview of the potential influence of republican political theory on the understanding of law
Brings together contributors from political and legal backgrounds to provide a rounded view of a potential republican legal theory
Analyses concrete issues in constitutional, criminal and international law from a republican perspective, offering fresh insights into controversies surrounding substantive law
Includes new contributions from leading figures in political and constitutional theory such as Philip Pettit, Richard Dagger and Adam Tomkins

Legal Republicanism

National and International Perspectives

Edited by Samantha Besson and José Luis Martí

Description

Interest in republicanism as a political theory has burgeoned in recent years, but its implications for the understanding of law have remained largely unexplored. Legal Republicanism is the first book to offer a comprehensive, critical survey of the potential for creating republican accounts of fundamental issues in law and legal theory.

Bringing together contributors with backgrounds in political and legal philosophy, the essays in the volume assess republicanism's historical traditions, conceptual coherence, and normative proposals. The collection offers a valuable insight into new debates taking place in republican political and legal theory. It also analyses potential republican approaches to concrete issues arising in areas of law such as criminal, constitutional and international law. Finally, the book includes comparisons between republican legal traditions and how they react to contemporary challenges. The book will be of value to political and democratic theorists, to legal philosophers and constitutional theorists, and all those interested in the legitimacy of decision-making in national and international settings.

Legal Republicanism

National and International Perspectives

Edited by Samantha Besson and José Luis Martí

Introduction: Law and Republicanism - Mapping the Issues, Samantha Besson and Jose Luis Marti
I. Republican Legal Theory
1: Law and Liberty, Philip Pettit
2: Cosmopolitan Republicanism and the Rule of Law, James Bohman
II. Republican Law
A. Republican Constitutional Law
3: Republicans, Rights and the Constitutions: Is Judicial Review Compatible with Republican Self-Government, Iseult Honohan
4: The Republic of Reasons: Public Reasoning, Depoliticization, and Non-Domination, Richard Bellamy
B. Republican Criminal Law
5: The Republican Democratization of Criminal Law and Justice, Jose Luis Marti
6: Republicanism and Crime, Richard Dagger
7: Tough On Punishment: Criminal Justice, Deliberation, and Legal Alienation, Roberto Gargarella
C. Republican International Law
8: The Republican Foundations of International Law, Mortimer N.S. Sellers
9: Ubi Ius, Ibi Civitas: A Republican Account of the International Community, Samantha Besson
10: Multilateral Dimensions of Republican Thought, Francis Cheneval
11: Alternative Visions of a New Global Order: What Should Cosmopolitans Hope For?, Cristina Lafont
III. National Republicanisms and the Law
12: The 'défense républicane': Some Remarks about the Specificity of French Republicanism, Jean-Fabien Spitz
13: French Republicanism and the European Union, Justine Lacroix and Paul Magnette
14: On Republican Constitutionalism in the Age of Commerce: Reflections from the Scottish Enlightenment, Adam Tomkins

Legal Republicanism

National and International Perspectives

Edited by Samantha Besson and José Luis Martí

Author Information

Edited by Samantha Besson, Professor of Public International Law and European Law, University of Fribourg, Switzerland, and José Luis Martí, Associate Professor of Law, Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona

Contributors:

Samantha Besson, University of Fribourg
Jose Luis Marti, Pompeu Fabra University
Philip Pettit, Princeton University
James Bohman, Saint Louis University
Richard Bellamy, University College, London
Iseult Honohan, University College, Dublin
Richard Dagger, Rhodes College
Roberto Gargarella, University of Torcuato Di Tella
Cristina Lafont, Northwestern University
Mortimer Sellers, University of Baltimore School of Law
Francis Cheneval, University of Zurich
Adam Tomkins, University of Glasgow
Jean-Fabien Spitz, Université de Paris I
Justine Lacroix, Université libre de Bruxelles
Paul Magnette, Université libre de Bruxelles

Legal Republicanism

National and International Perspectives

Edited by Samantha Besson and José Luis Martí

Reviews and Awards

Samantha Besson and Jose Luis Marti have produced an excellent state-of-the-art synthesis of contemporary republican theory, which amply illustrates the latter's depth, breath and vitality. They have assembled an impressive team of high-profile advocates of what they call 'legal republicanism', which they present not as a narrowly conceived theory of law but as a 'holistic approach to the political and legal organisation of a republic'. The book, therefore will be of interest not only to legal theorists but also, more generally, to theorists of politics and political philosophers. - Cecile Laborde, Transnational Legal Theory

The volume encompasses both theoretical and more practical approaches and one of its virtues has to be seen in the mutual influence between these two aspects. While the reflection on republican theory may help to deepen our understanding of how institutions ought to work, the republican analysis of legal fields like international or constitutional law may help in defining how to put forward a republican legal theory - Marco Goldoni, Jurisprudence