1. What other phenomena beyond rule of law reform might 'lawful birth' through 'dying by the law' accurately describe?
The concept of 'lawful birth' through 'dying by the law' can be extended beyond rule of law reform to describe various phenomena. One such example is the Brexit process, which unfolded after the British people voted in a referendum to leave the European Union in 2016. Brexit can be seen as a project to reimagine institutions, with proponents portraying it as a simplification of trade rules and a newfound institutional dynamism for Britain to negotiate its own trade deals. The complexity of disentangling Britain from the EU formed an explicit part of the politics surrounding Brexit. The Brexit slogan 'Brexit means Brexit' encapsulates the sublime institutional complexity and the struggle over expertise and ignorance work. The Brexit process showcases the avowed rejection of expertise while still relying on authoritative expert and legal structures to shape its unfolding. This demonstrates that the concept of 'lawful birth' through 'dying by the law' can be applied to a broader range of phenomena beyond rule of law reform.
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2. What anxieties emerged during the Brexit debate?
During the Brexit debate, two types of anxieties emerged. The first was anxiety over the outcome of the vote itself, as different camps expressed concern over the result. The second type of anxiety was related to the political status of experts and their authority to define the present and predict the future. This anxiety was evident in the pervasive sense of ambivalence about expertise and the relationship between politics and knowledge. The debate also highlighted the tension between knowledge-based governance and affective-cum-charismatic governance, with both pro- and anti-Brexit politicians emphasizing the role of fear, anger, and gut instinct in the decision-making process. The entanglements between these two types of politics and their attendant institutions were seen as being in conflict, with the Brexit vote representing a popular revolt against the authority of elites and a desire for self-governance.
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3. What is expert ignorance and how does it relate to institution-building and institutional reform projects?
Expert ignorance refers to a form of embodied expertise that does not reflect the momentary or intermittent experience of someone denying their expertise. It is a means of invoking an institutional sublime and giving it form while respecting its sublimity. Expert ignorance is necessarily composed of ignorance and implementation work, which involves the admixture of keeping things undecided and vague, and enduring efforts to classify and govern. In the context of institution-building and institutional reform projects, expert ignorance can be seen as a way to embrace the impossibility of success while committing to implementation. It allows for the analysis of the relationship between the continual renegotiation of first-order questions and the operations of governance, as well as efforts to shape that relationship. This concept has been applied to various domains, including peacebuilding, state-building, and environmental governance. Expert ignorance provides a framework to study the dynamics of expert self-denial and its effects on the field and its practices, such as the transitional justice (TJ) field. It highlights the importance of analyzing the relationship between ignorance and implementation work, and the attempts to limit that relationship in specific contexts like Brexit.
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