Introduction; 1. The paradox of democracy and the sociology of law; 2. National democracy and global law; 3. Before the law?; 4. Politics becomes the law; 5. The reconstruction of democratic agency; Conclusion.
Provides a new legal-sociological theory of democracy, reflecting the impact of global law on national political institutions. This title is also available as Open Access.
Chris Thornhill is Professor in Law at the University of Manchester. He is the author of several books on the sociology of law, especially on the sociology of constitutions. His books and other writings have been translated into many languages. He is a member of the Academia Europaea.
'Chris Thornhill endeavours to reconstruct a theory of democracy
that is descriptively more realistic and normatively more robust
than classical theories of democracy. … This work has the merit
that it connects a very informed socio-historical approach with a
fundamental sociological thesis concerning the linkage between the
political system and the system of law. … [A] book that is without
any doubt of crucial importance in the contemporary sociology of
law.' Jean de Munck, translated from Droit et Société
'Here, [Thornhill] reexamines modern democracy's historical
transformation from its revolutionary beginnings in the late 18th
century to its consolidation after 1945. Thornhill rejects the
metaphysical concepts of classical democratic theory that centered
on the political will of the citizen as the basis for democratic
organization. Taking instead a legal-sociological perspective, he
argues that the rise of global democracy after 1945 resulted from
the emergence of international human rights law … Highly
recommended.' A. Javier Treviño, Choice
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