New Book: The Law and Politics of International Legitimacy
The concept of legitimacy in international politics and global governance is a lightning rod in an era of complex geopolitical dynamics and evolving and contested international norms. Rutgers Law Distinguished Professor Jean-Marc Coicaud tackles this issue in his new book, The Law and Politics of International Legitimacy, published by Cambridge University Press.
The book assesses what political legitimacy is and how international law constructs a sense of legitimacy at the international level and seeks to regulate the current international order. It also highlights the limitations of legitimacy within international law and identifies conditions under which international law and order could overcome legitimacy challenges to become more just and effective. To do so, Professor Coicaud uses a descriptive, critical and reconstructive approach. This exploration is particularly timely, given the increasing scrutiny of international institutions and legal frameworks as well as growing fragmentation of international order. By addressing the foundational aspects of legitimacy, the book offers valuable insights for policymakers, scholars, and practitioners engaged in international law and global governance.
Professor Coicaud says, “Legitimacy, like justice, is central to the pursuit of a healthy and stable political, legal and economic order at the domestic level as at the international level.”
An expert in international law and global affairs, Professor Coicaud offers courses on international law, human rights, international organizations, the United Nations, comparative law, comparative jurisprudence, and comparative international legal regimes. He has published 16 other books (single-authored, co-authored and co-edited) and more than 100 chapters and articles in the fields of legal and political theory, international law, international relations, and comparative politics. His books are available in English, French, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, and Arabic.
In 2015, Professor Coicaud was elected a member to the European Academy of Sciences (Academia Europaea). Since 2018, he has served as Distinguished Visiting Chair Professor at Fudan Institute for Advanced Study in Social Sciences at Fudan University in Shanghai, China. In addition, he is a Nonresident Senior Fellow with the Centro Internacional de Globalización y Desarrollo in Santiago, Chile. Professor Coicaud also serves on the advisory board of the Global Policy Journal based in London.
Prior to joining Rutgers, Professor Coicaud served as Director at the United Nations University (UNU) in New York City, Director of Studies at UNU in Tokyo, a speechwriter in the Executive Office of the United Nations Secretary-General, and a Global Ethics Fellow with the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs. He studied at the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, the Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris, and Harvard University. He holds a Doctorat d’État in Legal and Political Theory, a Ph.D. in Political Science, and other graduate degrees in law, philosophy, literature, and linguistics.