Defining the Rights of Sovereignty

In the recent theoretical scholarship on sovereignty, it has become commonplace to encounter numerous ways in which state sovereignty been quietly “outsourced” and “pooled” with other agents institutions, especially international institutions aimed at promoting global governance commerce. Frédéric Mégret's fascinating article, contributes this growing body of scholarship, adds an important twist literature, by focusing specifically privatization sovereignty—that is, how various sovereign functions, once thought be essential or “inherent” statehood, have now outsourced handed over private actors. While analysis concerns consequences privatized modern public law, there is a rich pre-modern legal history anticipating conceptual normative problems explored piece. This essay focuses some those early sources, theory Jean Bodin (c.1530–1596), bear striking resemblance analysis. Like Mégret, Bodin, preeminent theorist approached concept qualities that were regarded exclusive.