Sustainable Development and Fragmentation in International Society
24 Pages Posted: 28 Oct 2009
Date Written: October 27, 2009
Abstract
At the heart of sustainable development is a concern for integration among environmental, economic and social fields of endeavour. Yet fragmentation among specialised bodies of law, and among fields of expert knowledge, can be seen as a response to the growing complexity of modern society and of its interactions with its environment. Drawing on insights from autopoietic theory, I question whether sustainable development's integrative project is tenable, and ask what other means are available for interaction and collaboration among specialised systems. Attention is focused on the creation of networks among legal regimes, as proposed by Fischer-Lescano and Teubner.
Keywords: Public international law, international environmental law, sustainable development, autopoietic theory
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