The Sovereignty Revolution
| DOI | 10.1177/002070200506000120 |
| Author | Michael Byers |
| Published date | 01 March 2005 |
| Date | 01 March 2005 |
| Subject Matter | Review |
REVIEWS
THE
SOVEREIGNTY
REVOLUTION
Alan Cranston
Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2004. xx, 102pp, us$19.95 cloth
(ISBN
0-8047-4761-X)
One thinks twice before criticizing a book that has been lauded by
Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Mikhail Gorbachev, and Oscar Arias
Sanchez.
One
thinks thrice when the book's author is Alan Cranston,
who served four terms as a progressive and influential member
of
the
us senate, spent his life campaigning for nuclear disarmament,
and
was one
of
those remarkable postwar Americans
who-at
the height
of
US
power-conceived
of
themselves, first and foremost, as global citi-
zens. Yetthis short volume, while entirely commendable in its breadth
and
sentiment, adds little to academic debates on sovereignty, global
politics, and international law.
Cranston's thesis may be summarized as follows: traditional, state-
centric conceptions
of
sovereignty have caused or exacerbated most
armed conflicts; all countries have already delegated portions
of
their
sovereignty by concluding international treaties or joining interna-
tional organizations; delegations
of
sovereignty were fundamental to
the creation
of
the United States and the European Union;
and
com-
parable delegations
of
sovereignty are now needed at the global level,
to new or existing organizations, if humankind is to overcome the oth-
erwise insurmountable obstacles
of
the 21st century, most prominent-
ly terrorism, nuclear proliferation, and climate change.
All
of
this is true, but none
of
it is new. Since the 19th century, inter-
national organizations have existed to prohibit, regulate, or facilitate
interests
and
activities as diverse as slavery, international watercourses,
INTERNATIONAL
JOURNAL
Winter 2004-2005
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