Between Fragmentation and Democracy explores the phenomenon of the fragmentation of international law and global governance following the proliferation of international institutions with overlapping jurisdictions and ambiguous boundaries. The authors argue that this problem has the potential to sabotage the evolution of a more democratic and egalitarian system and identify the structural reasons for the failure of global institutions to protect the interests of politically weaker constituencies. This book offers a comprehensive understanding of how new global sources of democratic deficits increasingly deprive individuals and collectives of the capacity to protect their interests and shape their opportunities. It also considers the role of the courts in mitigating the effects of globalization and the struggle to define and redefine institutions and entitlements. This book is an important resource for scholars of international law and international politics, as well as for public lawyers, political scientists, and those interested in judicial reform.

Eyal Benvenisti is Whewell Professor of International Law at the University of Cambridge and the Director of the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law. He is also Professor of Law at Tel-Aviv University and Global Visiting Professor at New York University School of Law. George W. Downs (1946-2015), a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, was a leading scholar of international relations, international security, human rights, international law, and public policy. He was a Professor of Politics, Chair of the Department of Politics (1998-2000), and Dean for Social Sciences (2000-9) at New York University. Prior to that, he had been a professor in the Department of Politics and the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, New Jersey (1987-98). He was the author of Optimal Imperfection?: Domestic Uncertainty and Institutions in International Relations (with David M. Rocke, 1995), and The Search for Government Efficiency: From Hubris to Helplessness (with Patrick D. Larkey, 1986), as well as of numerous articles in political science, law, and public policy.