The Choice of Paradigms in Political Economy: A Primer for Lawyers

What comes after neoliberalism? And why does this matter to lawyers? The backdrop for these questions is Duncan Kennedy’s portrayal of three paradigms of legal thinking, which successively gained influence across the globe. The first was classical legal thought, which rose to prominence in the second half of the 19th century and matched ideas of economic liberalism and laissez-faire. The second was socially oriented legal thought, which developed from the beginning of the 20th century and conceived of law as a regulatory instrument to advance social reforms. The third paradigm, which emerged in the second half of the 20th century, is referred to as neoformalism and could be termed neoliberalism as well, reflecting the related turn in economic thinking, law and policy-making.

2. September 2020

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Au revoir to Neoliberalism?

The oscillation between a social or a neoliberal paradigm in law as it appears prominently in this volume brings me back to my dissertation years when, between Trento (Italy) and Cambridge (U.S.), I was trying to map the role of la doctrine in the political economy of EU consumer law from the mid-1980s to the late 2000s. My puzzlement was always: where were European and private law scholars while these struggles were taking place in Brussels, Luxembourg and Barcelona?

2. September 2020

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The Myth of a Neoliberal European Private Law

Most of the contributions to the excellent collection of essays central to this symposium, refer to neoliberalism, in some cases quite frequently. None of them defines the concept, nor does any of them defend neoliberalism. The term is used mostly in a (very) critical sense, sometimes even dismissively. This book is far from unique in this respect. Indeed, the term neoliberalism is almost never used by politicians or scholars in order to vindicate a political ideal. Instead, during the past decade it has become a standard feature of left-wing political discourse, not only in academia and political activism, but also in mainstream left-wing politics. It is a term used by us to refer to them and their abominable politics.

1. September 2020

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The Path Back to the Law

We more than ever need a theory of law which allows us to imagine and, hopefully, to realise the conditions for social progress. This means, at a minimum, a theory which makes it possible to see how law can help address chronic problems of capitalism, including inequality and environmental degradation, which are now at the point of creating existential risks for democracy and, indeed, humanity.

1. September 2020

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The Italian Government Enforces Gender Parity in Regional Elections

On 23 July 2020, the Italian government formally warned Apulia that if the region did not introduce gender parity election rules by 28 July 2020, it would do so in its place. Apulia failed to adopt a regional statute in that time frame. Thus, on 31 July 2020, the Italian government adopted Decree Law 86/2020 which essentially introduced a mechanism of “double gender preference” for the regional Parliament elections to be held on 20-21 September 2020. What is clear is that this summer’s events around the Apulia election are yet another example of the “irresistible rise of gender quotas in Europe”, where Germany increasingly stands out as the proverbial exception.

24. August 2020

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Parity Laws in Germany

Recently, the Thüringian State Constitutional Court struck down a new law requiring parity with regard to party lists for state elections in response to a challenge brought by the populist far-right Alternative for Deutschland. Many of the AfD’s and the male-dominated court’s arguments against the law are common worldwide in debates about quotas. In an increasing number of democracies around the globe, however, quotas have not only survived constitutional challenges but have come to be seen as an essential mechanism for achieving political equality. Empirical research has determined many common concerns about quotas are unfounded. Here I provide some responses to the AfD’s and the Court’s worries about the law, drawn from the extensive political science literature on gender quotas.

30. Juli 2020

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Electoral Quotas for Women

Electoral quotas for women (‘EQW’) have become a world trend, raising questions about their constitutionality in different legal systems. This short piece attempts to summarize some of the main issues involved in this debate and the courts’ approach to it. The text concludes by offering some general criteria to assess the constitutionality of EQW.

27. Juli 2020

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Mexico as an example of Gender Parity in Parliaments?

I would like to participate in the debate on gender parity in Parliaments with the experience of Mexico. Mexico for the first time in its history has 48,2% of women in the Deputies Chamber and 49,2% in the Senate. The parity achieved in the Mexican Congress was the result of successive legislative and constitutional reforms which were supported by the Supreme Court of Justice.

26. Juli 2020

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