At the Margins of the Modern State
Critical Theory and Law
Seyla Benhabib
- The
- international
- order
- of
- the
- post-WW
- II
- period
- is
- in
- disarray.
- The
- sounds
- of
- war
- can
- be
- heard
- all
- around
- us,
- from
- Ukraine
- to
- Gaza,
- from
- Darfur
- to
- the
- Congo,
- and
- there
- is
- growing
- skepticism
- towards
- human
- rights
- and
- democracy,
- the
- rule
- of
- law
- and
- peace
- among
- peoples.Facile
- expressions
- such
- as
- “Eurocentrism”
- and
- “demise
- of
- the
- West
- and
- the
- rise
- of
- the
- rest”
- miss
- the
- real
- challenge
- in
- this
- situation:
- how
- to
- extend
- moral,
- legal
- and
- political
- universalism
- to
- address
- the
- experiences
- of
- the
- multitude
- of
- humanity
- for
- whom
- western
- modernity
- has
- brought
- not
- only
- equality
- but
- also
- subordination,
- not
- only
- emancipation
- but
- also
- domination.
- Benhabib
- argues
- that
- rethinking
- this
- universalist
- project
- and
- participating
- in
- world-building
- together
- can
- be
- achieved
- by
- reconstructing
- and
- retrieving
- the
- best
- insights
- of
- critical
- social
- theory
- in
- the
- Frankfurt
- tradition
- and
- the
- liberal
- Kantianism
- of
- Rawls
- and
- Dworkin.
- In
- that
- spirit,
- this
- volume
- addresses
- state
- and
- popular
- sovereignty,
- Third
- World
- approaches
- to
- International
- Law,
- the
- 1951
- Refugee
- Convention,
- and
- climate
- change
- legislation,
- while
- focusing
- on
- the
- changing
- fortunes
- of
- the
- European
- Union
- and
- cosmopolitanism.
- Benhabib
- engages
- with
- postcolonial
- thinkers
- and
- argues
- that,
- although
- validity
- claims
- and
- relations
- of
- domination
- and
- inequality
- are
- often
- intermixed,
- it
- is
- possible
- to
- reconstruct
- the
- insights
- of
- international
- law
- to
- serve
- a
- more
- inclusive
- universalism
- and
- world-building.This
- vibrant
- defense
- of
- human
- rights
- and
- universal
- norms
- in
- an
- age
- of
- political
- skepticism
- and
- extremism
- will
- appeal
- to
- a
- wide
- readership
- and
- will
- be
- of
- particular
- interest
- to
- students
- and
- scholars
- in
- political
- theory,
- critical
- theory
- and law.
