Noam Lubell, Extraterritorial Use of Force Against Non‐State Actors, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010, 288 pp, hb £70.00.
| Author | Mike Sanderson |
| Date | 01 November 2011 |
| Published date | 01 November 2011 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2230.2011.00883.x |
This factor, they claim, makes common law systems highly fluid and responsive
to the wider sub-systemic developments that economic globalisation entails. In
contrast, the greater institutional rigidities inherent in civil law systems make it
more likely that their characteristic features will endure against exogenous pres-
sures for change.Towards the end of this chapter, the authors speculate briefly as
to the effect of the post-crisis recession in relation to the developments outlined
in the book. They tentatively predict that growing disillusionment with the
purported effciency and self-sustainability of capital markets might trigger a
global paradigm shift in economic policy and associated institutional design, from
the profit-maximisation imperative of neo-liberalism towards a neo-Keynesian
settlement of stability, continuity and demand management.(With the benefit of
some hindsight, one might surmise that this prediction does not appear to have
been borne out to any great extent.) Unfortunately, the specific implications of
this ideological turn for corporate governance reform are not explored, although
this is perhaps an ideal basis for a follow-up work by the authors.
Overall, this is a comprehensive and much-needed counter-perspective on
comparative corporate governance to the dominant neo-liberal hypothesis.
Although the discussion in large part takes the form of a synthesis of established
arguments on the subject, it also builds on those perspectives with some fresh
observations that add value to the international debate, particularly with respect
to the intersection between corporate governance and macro-economic policy.
As well as being on the long side, the book can be a rather tough read at times,
although this is arguably due to the fact that the nuances of the topic are
irreducible to any simplistic or one-dimensional perspective. Another slight
criticism is that the centrality of the German case to the authors’ overall thesis
could perhaps have been brought out at an earlier stage. It is also a little
disappointing that the authors chose not to apply their theoretical perspective to
any developing or transitional economies,choosing instead to concentrate on the
‘rust belt’ nations of the developed west. Indeed, the authors’ fascinating insights
on institutional development and resilience may prove to have considerable
resonance in the context of the rapidly industrialising BRIC countries or the
financial powerhouse states of south-east Asia, where conflicts between globali-
sation and indigenous institutions pose potentially seismic political and cultural
repercussions.
Marc Moore*
Noam Lubell,Extraterritor ial Use of Force Against Non-State Actors, Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 2010, 288 pp,hb £70.00.
It is now fashionable to weigh the quality of a book as much by its ‘relevance’ as
its more disinterested scholarly qualities. Academics, particularly in the UK, are
now instructed to consider the potential ‘impact’ of their work when defining
*Faculty of Laws, University College London
Reviews
© 2011 TheAuthors. The Modern Law Review © 2011The Modern Law Review Limited. 981(2011) 74(6) MLR 974–989
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