Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/11356
Title: | Spinoza and constituent power |
Authors: | Del Lucchese, F |
Keywords: | Constituent power;Conflict;Law;State theory;Constitutionalism;Democracy |
Issue Date: | 2015 |
Publisher: | Palgrave Macmillan |
Citation: | Contemporary Political Theory, (2015) |
Abstract: | This article considers Baruch Spinoza’s contribution to a theory of constituent power. Modern theories of constituent power generally agree on its paradoxical essence: a power that comes before the law and founds the law is at the same time a power that, once the juridical sphere is established, has to be obliterated by the law. Spinoza’s ontology has been recognised as one of the early modern sources of constituent power, yet he argues for a strict equivalence between law and power. This article argues that by reading Spinoza’s political theory through the lens of a radical immanence between ontology and history, we can understand him as a source for a theory of constituent power. It also argues that, through this immanence, Spinoza’s thought offers a solution to the paradox of constituent power and enriches contemporary discussions on the origin of juridical sphere and the relationship between politics and law. |
URI: | http://www.palgrave-journals.com/cpt/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/cpt201539a.html http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/11356 |
DOI: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/cpt.2015.39 |
ISSN: | 1476-9336 |
Appears in Collections: | Brunel Law School Research Papers |
Files in This Item:
File | Description | Size | Format | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Fulltext.pdf | 179.56 kB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
Items in BURA are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.