Sovereignty and the New Executive Authority

The idea of sovereignty and the debates that surroundit are not merely of historical academic or legal interest: they are also potent vibrant issues and as current and relevant as today''s front page news in the United States and in other Western democracies. In thepost- 9/11United States the growth of the national security state has resulted in a growingstruggle to maintain the legal and ethical boundaries surrounding executive authority boundaries that help to define and protect democratic governance. Thesepost-9/11 developments and their effect on the scope of presidential power present hard questions and arefueling today''sintensedebates among political leaders citizensconstitutional scholarshistorians and philosophers. This volume will contribute to the public conversation on the nature of executive authority and its relation to the broader topic of sovereignty in several ways. First readers will learn that the current vital questions surrounding the nature of executive authority and presidential power have their intellectual roots in historical and philosophical writings about the nature of sovereignty. Second sovereignty has historically been a complicated topic; this volume helps identify the terms of the debate. Third and most critically citizens'' understanding of the concept of sovereignty is essential to grasping the available options for confronting current challenges to the rule of law in democratic societies. The volume''s 15 essays drawn from among the disciplines of law political science philosophy and international relationscovers an expansive series of topics from historical theories and international affairs to governmental transparency and legitimacy. The volume also focuses on thechanges in the concept of sovereignty post-9/11 in the United States and their impact on democracy and the rule of law particularly in the area of national security practice.