Matthias Herdegen: The Dynamics of International Law in a Globalised World

Cosmopolitan Values, Constructive Consent and Diversity of Legal Cultures

Frankfurt am Main: Klostermann 2016

In the process of globalisation, international law plays a crucial and ambivalent role. It is one of the driving forces behind the integration of markets, expanding standards of human rights and good governance as well as mechanisms for international peace and security. International law also responds to a globalised world which catalyses not only universal ethics, but also the global spread of risks to political and economic stability. "Evolutive interpretation" of international agreements affects traditional concepts of sovereignty and democratic legitimacy. It enhances the power of technocratic elites. At the same time, we witness an intensive interplay between the different sectors of international law; new layers of 'hard' and 'soft' normativity as well as intriguing forms of legal pluralism.

 

Matthias Herdegen is Director of the Institute of Public Law (Institut für Öffentliches Recht) and Director at the Institute of Public International Law (Institut für Völkerrecht) of the University of Bonn.From October 2012 to April 2013, he was fellow at the Käte Hamburger Center for Advanced Study in the Humanities “Law as Culture” and continued his fellowship in October 2013.