There has been renewed and growing interest in exploring the significant role played by law in the centralization of power and sovereignty – right from the earliest point. This timely book serves as an introduction into state theory, providing an overview of the conceptual history and the interdisciplinary tradition of the continental European general theory of the state. Chapters present a theory of the state grounded in cultural analysis and show liberal democracy to be the paradigm of today’s western nation-state. The analysis includes the emergence of legal forms and institutions that are linked either to the constitutional state (the securing of civil liberties and fundamental rights), the welfare state (social and welfare law), or the network-state (regulation of complex digital technologies). Thomas Vesting focuses on illustrating the fundamental features of these evolutionary stages – the three layers constituting the modern state – and reveals their cultural and social preconditions. This book will be an ideal read for students, postgraduates, and other academic audiences with interests in state theory, jurisprudence, legal theory, political theory, and legal philosophy.

There has been renewed and growing interest in exploring the significant role played by law in the centralization of power and sovereignty - right from the earliest point. This timely book serves as an introduction into state theory, providing an overview of the conceptual history and the interdisciplinary tradition of the continental European general theory of the state. Chapters present a theory of the state grounded in cultural analysis and show liberal democracy to be the paradigm of today's western nation-state. The analysis includes the emergence of legal forms and institutions that are linked either to the constitutional state (the securing of civil liberties and fundamental rights), the welfare state (social and welfare law), or the network-state (regulation of complex digital technologies). Thomas Vesting focuses on illustrating the fundamental features of these evolutionary stages - the three layers constituting the modern state - and reveals their cultural and social preconditions. This book will be an ideal read for students, postgraduates, and other academic audiences with interests in state theory, jurisprudence, legal theory, political theory, and legal philosophy.

This book provides an historically informed reconstruction of the social practices that have shaped the formation of the modern subject from the early modern period to the present. The formal legal protections accorded to subjects are, and always have been, latent in social practices, norms and language before they are articulated in formal legal orders.  Vesting argues that, in Western societies, legal personhood is closely tied to three ideal types of social personhood – what he calls the gentleman, the manager, and Homo Digitalis. By examining these three ideal types and their emergence in society, we can see that Western formal law does not bring these ideal types into being but, on the contrary, arises from the social and cultural conditions that these ideal types generate and reflect.  Correspondingly, Western legal personhood, or ‘legal subjectivity’, arises from the history and culture of Western nations, not the other way around. Therefore, signature features of Western formal law, particularly its valorization of the rights of persons (whether natural or non-natural), come from particular socio-historical cultural developments that had already generated the strong ideas of social personhood inherent in the ideal types of the gentleman, the manager, and Homo Digitalis. Subjectivity Transformed is a major contribution to legal and social theory and, with its original analysis of the formation of modern subjectivity, it will be of interest to students and scholars throughout the social sciences and humanities.

This book provides an historically informed reconstruction of the social practices that have shaped the formation of the modern subject from the early modern period to the present. The formal legal protections accorded to subjects are, and always have been, latent in social practices, norms and language before they are articulated in formal legal orders.  Vesting argues that, in Western societies, legal personhood is closely tied to three ideal types of social personhood – what he calls the gentleman, the manager, and Homo Digitalis. By examining these three ideal types and their emergence in society, we can see that Western formal law does not bring these ideal types into being but, on the contrary, arises from the social and cultural conditions that these ideal types generate and reflect.  Correspondingly, Western legal personhood, or ‘legal subjectivity’, arises from the history and culture of Western nations, not the other way around. Therefore, signature features of Western formal law, particularly its valorization of the rights of persons (whether natural or non-natural), come from particular socio-historical cultural developments that had already generated the strong ideas of social personhood inherent in the ideal types of the gentleman, the manager, and Homo Digitalis. Subjectivity Transformed is a major contribution to legal and social theory and, with its original analysis of the formation of modern subjectivity, it will be of interest to students and scholars throughout the social sciences and humanities.

As many disciplines in the humanities have experienced a focus on culture?s impact in recent decades, questions surrounding the significance of media such as writing, print, and computer networks have become increasingly relevant. This book seeks to demonstrate that a media and cultural theory perspective can also be highly productive for legal theory. Thomas Vesting approaches law as an artificial and constructive element within culture and emphasizes the many possibilities that varied forms of media have opened to law, from oral history through to scripture, print and modern day digital networks. While providing historical examples for these theoretical assumptions, the connections between media and law are reconstructed in a practical way and with an eye toward the future. The book closes with an analysis of our present age as a network culture and discusses how this metaphorical framework can be of use in thinking about issues such as constitutionalism, human rights, the state, democracy and education. Legal Theory and the Media of Law will be of great interest to legal, cultural and media theorists as well as academics of politics, sociology and philosophy.

Das positive Recht ist das Objekt des rechtlichen Wissens. Aber wer oder was ist sein Subjekt? Ist es "die" Rechtswissenschaft? Ist es die jeweils zu einer Entscheidung befugte Stelle? Oder ist es gar "das Recht selbst"? Im Hauptbeitrag dieses Bandes wird die provokante These entfaltet, dass das Recht nicht bloß Gegenstand der Erkenntnis, sondern auch Subjekt des Erkennens ist. Den Schlüssel zum Verständnis dieser These bildet eine Theorie der Rechtsquellen. Diese lassen sich als Formen des Urteilens begreifen, etwa in der Form der Behauptung, etwas gehe nicht an, weil es das noch nie gegeben habe (Gewohnheitsrecht), oder etwas sei unerlaubt, weil das so entschieden worden sei (Gesetzesrecht). Keine Quelle kann für sich selbst sprechen. Sie bedarf der Vermittlung durch eine andere. Zwischen den Quellen entsteht solcherart ein spannungsreiches Verhältnis von wechselseitiger Anerkennung und Zurückweisung. Im Fall der Beziehung zwischen der hoheitlichen Rechtsanwendung und der wissenschaftlichen Rechtserkenntnis lässt sich dieses Verhältnis unter Anknüpfung an Hegel als Dialektik von Herrschaft und Knechtschaft beschreiben. Aus der Sackgasse, in die das rechtliche Wissen damit gerät, lässt sich ein Ausweg nur finden, indem man die Theorie der Rechtsquellen zur Theorie des Rechtsverhältnisses erweitert. Auf deren Grundlage lässt sich die Rechtsgeltung als Konstrukt begreifen, dessen wir uns bedienen, um mit moralischen Auffassungsunterschieden fertig zu werden.

The rule of law in cyberspace currently faces serious challenges. From the democratic system to the exercise of fundamental rights, the Internet has raised a host of new issues for classic legal institutions. This book provides a valuable contribution to the fields of international, constitutional and administrative law scholarship as the three interact in cyberspace.The respective chapters cover topics such as the notion of digital states and digital sovereignty, jurisdiction over the Internet, e-government, and artificial intelligence. The authors are eminent scholars and international experts with a profound knowledge of these topics. Particular attention is paid to the areas of digital democracy, digital media and regulation of the digital world. The approach employed is based on a comparative perspective from Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Portugal and Brazil. One particular focus is on how various legal systems are coping with increasing difficulties in the exercise of democracy with regard to disinformation and hate speech. The roles of legislators, the judicial system and public administrations are analysed in the light of the latest cases, conflicts and technologies. In addition to this comparative approach, the book explores the evolution of rule of law in cyberspace and the upcoming new legal regimes in the European Union and Brazil. Special care is taken to offer a critical review of both the literature and the latest legal solutions adopted and being considered regarding the regulation of cyberspace from a constitutional and administrative perspective. Given its scope, the book will be of interest to researchers and scholars in the field of digital law whose work involves constitutional problems in cyberspace and/or practical problems concerning the regulation of social networks and online commerce.

This volume presents the lectures and discussions held at the conference of the "Vereinigung der deutschen Staatsrechtslehrer" (the association of german professors for public law), October 1st - Ocober 3rd, 2003, Hamburg.