A Genealogy of Sovereignty (Cambridge Studies in International Relations, Series Number 39)

The concept of sovereignty is central to international relations theory and theories of the state and provides the foundation of the conventional separation of modern politics into domestic and international spheres. In this book Jens Bartelson provides a critical analysis and conceptual history of sovereignty, dealing with philosophical and political texts during three periods: the Renaissance, the Classical Age, and Modernity. He argues that sovereignty should be regarded as a concept contingent upon, rather than fundamental to, political science and its history. "The concept of sovereignty is central to international relations theory and theories of state formation, and provides the foundation of the conventional separation of modern politics into domestic and international spheres. In this book Jens Bartelson provides a critical analysis and conceptual history of sovereignty, dealing with this separation as reflected in philosophical and political texts during three periods: the Renaissance, the Classical Age, and Modernity. He argues that the concept of sovereignty and its place within political discourse are conditioned by philosophical and historiographical discontinuities between the periods, and that sovereignty should be regarded as a concept contingent upon, rather than fundamental to, political science and its history."--pub. desc Series page 4 Title page 6 Copyright page 7 Table of contents 8 Preface 10 1 Introduction: sovereignty and fire 12 2 The problem: deconstructing sovereignty 23 3 Beyond subject and structure: towards a genealogy of sovereignty 64 4 Inventing outsides: proto-sovereignty, exempla and the general theory of the state in the Renaissance 99 5 How policy became foreign: sovereignty, mathesis and interest in the Classical Age 148 6 Reorganizing reality: sovereignty, modernity and the international 197 7 Conclusion: the end of sovereignty? 248 Notes 260 Bibliography 304 Index 325