Book Symposium

TL;DR: Book symposium on John Jackson's book "Sovereignty-Modern" focusing on changes in the concepts of sovereignty and cooperation in international law. The book explores the challenges faced by the principle of sovereignty since the 1940s and the increasing involvement of non-state actors in international law.

Abstract: Sovereignty is certainly the cornerstone ‘par excellence’ of modern international law, as well as more widely, of the contemporary international political order. There is no doubt, however, that the principle of sovereignty has been facing major challenges since the 1940s and even more since the 1990s. The foundations of the international legal system, as it has been generally accepted for centuries, have been thoroughly shaken. The international scene is more diverse. States retain a pre-eminent role, but they no longer have an absolute monopoly of interest articulation and action on the international scene. International organizations increase in number every day and are involved in an ever-larger number of activities. Non-state actors, as numerous and different as they are, have become holders of rights and obligations under international law. In many fields, non-state actors are important players in designing and implementing policies. John Jackson’s latest opus offers us a thrilling overview of the changes that have taken place with respect to the concepts of sovereignty and cooperation. This is done through the prism of international economic law, and more specially of WTO law, considered as ‘ the central illustration of legal jurisprudential developments influenced by phenomena of our contemporary world’ (p. 19). Complexity has been introduced through the globalization of markets, communications and transports. Reactions and responses to this phenomenon have to be provided. Institutions and rules are evolving. The issue is whether these institutions and rules address all the new needs, and, if not, what should be their profile. Reading John Jackson’s book gives one the impression of entering into the mindset of a world-renowned expert who has traveled the world of international law for a long time. The reader is progressively introduced to the diverse actors, norms and institutions, and is told about the changes as well as their drawbacks. The book ‘focuses primarily on what might be thought of as the core of sovereignty – ‘the monopoly of power’ – dimension’ (p. 59). John Jackson’s viewpoint is that this concept has been replaced by the one of ‘sovereignty-modern’, involving departures from the traditional sovereignty concepts (p. 77). He tests this departure in what he considers to be the real world, i.e. the WTO. The journey starts with the birth of GATT and the conundrums World Trade Review (2007), 6 : 3, 477–480 Printed in the United Kingdom f Cambridge University Press