“Which Supranational Sovereignty? Socio-economic Justice and International Criminal Law Compared” (with Elisa Orrú) ..
Review of International Studies, 37(2011) (peer-reviewed)
Abstract
The idea that transnational dynamics challenge the regulatory capacity of
the state has hardly ever received as much attention as in contemporary
debates. Different voices denounce the crisis of the state and advocate the
establishment of supranational institutions with legally coercive power. It
is tempting to jump to the conclusion that these voices are concerned with
the same cluster of problems. We think that one should resist this
temptation. Firstly, not all the problems pointed out by the advocates of
supranational sovereignty are of the same kind and structure. Some concern
the need to limit the power of states, whereas others address the almost
opposite necessity to support and strengthen their problem-solving capacity
through forms of international regulation. Secondly, the corresponding
solutions are different. In particular, although they may all imply the
establishment of supranational institutions, not all such institutions need
be global. The creation of a full-blown global rule of criminal law, for
instance, would raise serious concerns of global despotism and cultural
imperialism, and we therefore make a case for regional and context-sensitive
solutions in this case. However, problems of supranational socio-economic
justice can only be addressed through global regulatory institutions, for
regional institutions would, in this case, only recreate current problems at
the inter-regional level.