Benjamin Faude on the Paradox of Legalization

Benjamin Faude has published a revised version of the paper presented at our section at the 2010 SGIR confernce in the German Zeitschrift für Internationale Beziehungen.

Faude, Benjamin (2011): Paradoxe Verrechtlichtung. Wie Streitschlichtungsmechanismen interagieren. In: Zeitschrift für Internationale Beziehungen 18: 1. S. 77-108.

Zusammenfassung:
In diesem Beitrag wird argumentiert, dass es zur Erfassung der Verrechtlichung internationaler Politik notwendig ist, auch die inter-institutionellen Implikationen institutionenspezifischer Verrechtlichungsprozesse systematisch zu untersuchen. Daher wird zunächst die Interdependenz von Verrechtlichung und institutioneller Wechselwirkung verdeutlicht. Anschließend wird ein theoretischer Ansatz zur systematischen Analyse institutioneller Wechselwirkung durch Streitschlichtung entwickelt. Mit Hilfe dieses Ansatzes wird anhand von zwei Fallstudien exemplarisch analysiert, wie und mit welchen Folgen sich Streitschlichtungsmechanismen wechselseitig beeinflussen. Es handelt sich dabei um die Streitschlichtungsmechanismen des Nordamerikanischen Freihandelsabkommens (NAFTA) und der Welthandelsorganisation (WTO). Durch das Aufdecken inkonsistenter bzw.
partieller Entscheidungen der beiden Streitschlichtungsmechanismen wird deutlich, dass institutionenspezifische Verrechtlichungsprozesse grundsätzlich die Gefahr in sich bergen, sich in anderen Institutionen vollziehende Verrechtlichungsprozesse zu unterminieren. Im Hinblick auf die Lösung von internationalen Konflikten ist eine Konsequenz der separaten Verrechtlichung in einzelnen internationalen Institutionen paradoxerweise die Gefahr des Rückfalls aus dem regelbasierten Interaktionsmodus im Rahmen der Streitschlichtungsmechanismen in den machtbasierten Interaktionsmodus außerhalb derselben.

Abstract:
In this article it is argued that, in order to grasp the legalization of world politics entirely, it is necessary to investigate the inter-institutional implications of institution-specific processes of legalization. First, the interdependence of legalization and institutional interaction is explicated. Subsequently, a theoretical approach to analyze institutional interaction through Dispute Settlement is developed. Empirically, two case studies demonstrate how and with which consequences the Dispute Settlement Mechanisms of the North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) mutually influence each other through inconsistent and partial decisions. It becomes clear that institution-specific processes of legalization generally imply the danger of undermining the legalization processes within other institutions. With regard to the resolution of international conflicts, a consequence of the institution-specific legalization is paradoxically the relapse from the rule-based mode of interaction within the Dispute Settlement Mechanisms into the power-based mode of interaction outside the Dispute Settlement Mechanisms.

"Der Kampf ums Recht" - Konferenz, 1.-3. September 2011, Universität Wien

"Der Kampf ums Recht": Akteure und Interessen im Blick der interdisziplinären Rechtsforschung. Zweiter Kongress der deutschsprachigen Rechtssoziologie-Vereinigungen, 1.-3. September 2011, Universität Wien

„Alles Recht in der Welt ist erstritten worden“, hielt Rudolf von Jhering 1872 in Wien der seinerzeit unter Juristen weit verbreiteten Auffassung entgegen, das Recht erwachse einem „Volkgeist“ oder der allgemeinen Vernunft. Für Jhering dagegen war „Recht nicht bloßer Gedanke, sondern lebendige Kraft“, und das Ergebnis des Kampfes widerstreitender Interessen und politischer Aus­ein­ander­setzungen. Eine Vielzahl von Akteuren kämpft danach um das geltende Recht, manche für den Status Quo, andere für Veränderungen. Der Kampf, so Jhering, ist „die Arbeit des Rechts“, das Recht „kein logischer, sondern […] ein Kraftbegriff“.

more information (in German)

COST Action 1003 offers Short term mobility support in International Law/International Relations

It is possible to apply for support for short term mobility (3 days-6 months) within the frame of the COST Action: International Law between Constitutionalisation and Fragmentation: the role of law in the post-national constellation. (to be found at the Action website: http://www.il-cf.eu/ ). The mobility is intended to facilitate research collaboration on topics that fall within the frame of the action, especially for younger researchers. Support can be offered to researchers who wish to move between (from/to) institutions located in the countries that have signed the action. Currently the following countries participate in the Action: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Hungary, Ireland, Sweden and the European Institute in Florence. South Africa and Australia are currently applying for partnership.
Applications will be prioritized according to their relevance and closeness to the research agenda of the Action. For further information on the mobility support see the Action website: http://www.il-cf.eu/ . The application form can be found at http://www.cost.eu/stsm
For any queries or to submit complete applications, please contact one of the following two STSM coordinators:

Alexia Herwig, JSD, LLM
Associate Professor
Faculty of Law
University of Antwerp
Venusstraat 23
2000 Antwerp
Belgium
Phone : + 32 3 265 5498
alexia.herwig@ua.ac.be

Anna Leander
Professor
Department of Business and Politics
Copenhagen Business School
Porcelænshaven 18A
2000 Frederiksberg
Denmark
Phone: +45 3815 3119
al.dbp@cbs.dk
Anna Leander
Professor (mso)
Department of Business and Politics
Copenhagen Business School
Porcelænshaven 18A, DK-2000 Frederiksberg
Tel.: (+45) 3815 3119 |al.dbp@cbs.dk |
www.cbs.dk/staff/ale

Free Access to Leiden Journal

The Leiden Journal of International Law is provides a forum for two vital areas, namely international legal theory and international dispute settlement. Its articles section publishes critical contributions to legal and political theory. This makes it of interest to IR scholars too. Alexander Wendt considers LJIL 'to be an indispensable gateway to work at the intersection of international law, international relations, and even political theory'.

Cambridge University Press is pleased to offer you complimentary access to a collection of articles from the Leiden Journal of International Law that reach firmly into the realms of international relations. These LJIL articles are available - completely free - for a limited period here.

ISA Round Table on Judicial Coordination and the Global Community of Courts: Critical Perspectives

National courts often use international norms in their decisions even when such norms have not been incorporated into their domestic legal systems. Judicial cross-fertilization also occurs as a result of mutual referencing of foreign decisions that have persuasive appeal, and through extensive networking initiatives. It is argued that this phenomenon signals the emergence of a "global community of courts" and the merging of international and domestic legal systems. To evaluate this claim, research needs to engage two types of questions with far reaching implications for politics and law. The first, empirical question is whether transjudicial cooperation is indeed a global trend: is it occurring across legal traditions and cultures? What motivates courts to turn to international and foreign law in reasoning their decisions? How do other actors outside the judiciary perceive this practice? The second, normative question is whether this observed merging of international and national law may take place in the absence of shared values, principles and normative underpinnings. In other words, even if empirically it can be shown that judicial cross-fertilization is global in scope, and that it may blur the distinctions between international and national law, what are the ethical implications of such developments?

Participants: Kerstin Blome (University Bremen), Charlotte Ku (Univerity of Illinios), Philip Liste (University of Hamburg), Andreas von Staden (University St Gallen), Chair: Antje Wiener (University of Hamburg)

The Round Table discussion is taking place at the ISA Annual Convention, Montreal, Thursday, March 17, 2011 10:30 AM
Room: Viger A

Karlsruhe dankt ab - Prantl in der SZ

Das Bundesverfassungsgericht schleicht sich aus dem Grundrechtsschutz für Flüchtlinge heraus. Es verlässt sich erneut darauf, dass die Politik alles richtig machen wird - und degradiert sich mit dieser Entscheidung selbst.
zum Kommentar in der SZ

Global Organisation as Text in Context, Call for papers - 6th ECPR General Conference (25th - 27th Aug. 2011)

For a panel on "Global Organisation as Text in Context" at the ECPR General Conference, Section 82: "Developments of and in International Organisations – From Interstate Cooperation to Global Order?" we are calling for paper proposals  (Deadline Feb 1, 2011).

International Organisations/Institutions and discourse are not mutually exclusive. Focussing on the institutionalisation of discourses and on the discursive production and reproduction of institutions, the panel is based on the assumption that discourses and institutions are inextricably intertwined and, thus, should be analysed accordingly. In terms of empirical studies, a textual perspective allows to access the micropolitics of institutions and international organisations.
We are interested in the discursive processes that bring forth what Max Weber has called the “congealed spirit [...] embodied in that living machine which is represented by bureaucratic organisation with its specialisation of trained, technical work, its delimitation of areas of responsibility, its regulations and its graduated hierarchy of relations of obedience”. Against the background of a renewed interest in the formalisation of institutions, for instance in the context of debates about global constitutionalisation, the panel engages with the self-generative processes of (highly) formalised institutions, i.e. IOs.
Questions for papers in the frame of this panel could include:
How is the social context of international organisations/institutions reflected in their institutional discourses? What is the relation between organisations and their social/political environment? How do institutions structure their discursive arenas – and the subject positions connected to them?

All paper proposals must be submitted via email and online under http://www.ecprnet.eu/conferences/general_conference/reykjavik
(Deadline: Feb 1, 2011)