A Rule of Law for Our New Age of Anxiety

by Stephen J Toope

Overview

Taking Auden's Age of Anxiety as a leitmotiv and drawing on literature from law, philosophy, political theory, international relations, and sociology, Toope argues with passion that a renewed faith in the rule of law can address troubling developments in our own anxious times: populist nationalism; globalisation; and disruptive technologies with their dominating platforms. We can address anxiety by bolstering social resilience, drawing upon a plural intellectual heritage. That heritage reveals a unique type of 'authority' in society, 'epistemic practical authority' built up continuously through social discourse and action, shifting focus from the state of 'being' to the dynamic of 'becoming.' What is law's role in this world? The modest, yet powerful, version of the rule of law advocated here is one that draws on a wellspring of practical wisdom - prudence gleaned from pragmatic experience. It chastens power, while not disconnecting law from other sources of social action and human agency.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781009299459
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	06/01/2023
Pages:	250
Product dimensions:	6.26(w) x 9.29(h) x 0.83(d)

About the Author

Stephen J. Toope OC, FRSC, LL.D. is President of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research and Vice-Chancellor Emeritus of the University of Cambridge. Previously, Professor Toope was Director of the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto, and President of the University of British Columbia.  A former Dean of Law at McGill University, Toope chaired the UN Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances.

Table of Contents

Introduction; Part I. Uncertainty, Risk and Anxiety: 1. Our Age of Anxiety; 2. Populism and Nationalism; 3. The Confounding Diversity of Globalisation; 4. The Rise of Disruptive Technologies and Dominating Platforms; Part II. Our Inheritance of Thought and Action: Addressing our Anxiety; 5. Practical Wisdom and Pragmatism; 6. Social Practices, Background Knowledge and Law; Part III. A Modest 'Rule of Law' Helps Frame a Healthier Society: 7. The Bases of Law and Challenges to Legalism; 8. Interactional Law and the Rule of Law; 9. Lawyers, Practice and Legal Education; Conclusion: That A Beginning Be Made.

Editorial Reviews

‘One of the most brilliant books I have read on the profound sources and contemporary drivers of our current age of anxiety. Stephen J. Toope’s suggestion of a practice-oriented pragmatist rule of law to contribute to remedying the predicament is sensible and normatively imperative.’ Emanuel Adler, Professor Emeritus of Political Science, Bronfman Chair of Israeli Studies, Emeritus, University of Toronto

‘In our deeply troubled world, Stephen J. Toope has performed the astonishing feat of providing an optimistic yet deeply pragmatic account of how the rule of law can, properly understood, help us to navigate the many perils that lie ahead.’ David Dyzenhaus, University Professor of Law and Philosophy, University of Toronto

‘A wise, humble and compassionate vision of the law as a social practice committed to solve the problems facing democracies in an age of anxiety.’ Michael Ignatieff, Central European University, Vienna

‘Considering the pressures university leaders live 24/7, especially in the last two years, it is a stupendous accomplishment. My guess is that for decades to come Professor Toope will be publicly feted and quietly hated by all university presidents and provosts.’ Peter J. Katzenstein, Cornell University

‘Drawing on a variety of disciplines and approaches, Stephen J. Toope suggests saving the rule of law from itself and its many discontents by developing a largely procedural version, sensitive to a diversity of demands of time and place. Viewing law predominantly as a social practice involving not just lawyers but also citizens, activists, politicians, journalists and others, Toope develops a pragmatic notion of the rule of law, built around the Aristotelian idea of ‘practical wisdom’. In doing so, he offers an inspiring vision on law and its importance in times of populism, digitalisation, climate change, and other profound challenges. Lucidly written, A Rule of Law for Our New Age of Anxiety is an insightful meditation by one of the most respected academic leaders worldwide.’ Jan Klabbers, University of Helsinki

‘A lifelong exemplar of scholarship, principle, university leadership, and humble decency, Stephen J. Toope believes in simple truths, calmly held and passionately implemented. Here he argues compellingly that our answer to such disruptive anxieties as authoritarian populist nationalism and jarring technological change must be renewed commitment to the rule of law, informed by honest social discourse about lessons learned from our shared history of making progress together.’ Harold Hongju Koh, Sterling Professor of International Law and former Dean, Yale Law School. Legal Adviser, United States Department of State (2009–13), Assistant Secretary of State, Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (1998–2001)

‘That an ideal can be at once modest and precious is a thought too rarely entertained. This intelligent, humane and wide-ranging work shows that the rule of law, conceived as a community of ‘anchoring [legal] practices - a constellation of ideas, discourses and concrete actions’ rather than just an instrument of power, can be both. Modest because it is only one practice among many; precious as indispensable foundation for the best of the others. A welcome tonic for an ‘age of anxiety’.’ Martin Krygier, AM Gordon Samuels Professor of Law and Social Theory, UNSW Sydney and Senior Research Fellow, CEU Democracy Institute, Budapest

From the Publisher