The State in Transformation
This seminar introduces two critical shifts that are transforming the state and the nature of public law in far-reaching ways. First, the rise of the regulatory state or the move ‘from government to governance’. Second, the rise of transnational networks and global governance. These changes are altering the boundaries (public/private, national/international) that previously defined the scope of public law. And they are presenting new challenges for the protection of rights and accountability.
As you read and watch, recall the stable model of the state assumed in most constitutional texts and your earlier learning in this area. Reflect on how dynamics of deregulation and globalisation are stretching sovereignty beyond the state and altering how and where governance is exercised.
There will also be space in this first seminar to discuss your special study topic with your seminar leader and gain an understanding of how it connects to both of your assessments in this module.
Core Reading (and Watching):
Moran, M, ‘The Rise of the Regulatory State in Britain’, (2001) 54(1) Parliamentary Affairs 19 – 34.
1. What is the regulatory state? What are the key transformations that define its emergence?
2. What are the key problems associated with these changes, according to Moran? What do you think these changes might these mean for public law and the regulation of governance?
Saskia Sassen, Consequences of Globalization: http://bit.ly/2h9Tl6M
3. How has the deregulation of national economies transformed the state? How has it changed the relationship between legislatures and executives? Who wins and who loses – and why?
Connect the key points of Moran’s article with the main arguments advanced by Sassen.
4. The prevailing notion of globalisation is that it proceeds by eroding the power of national states. How does Sassen problematise that view? What are the implications of this for how we think about public law?
Background Reading:
Black, J. ‘Tensions in the Regulatory State’ (2007) Public Law 58.
Sassen, S. ‘When National Territory is Home to the Global: Old Borders to Novel Borderings’ (2005)
10(4) New Political Economy 523 – 541.
Benvenisti, E. ‘The future of sovereignty: the nation-state in the global governance space’ in Cassese
S. (ed) Research Handbook on Global Administrative Law (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2016),
483 – 501.
