Abstract
This article explores how sovereignty fictions have been used to
advance different legal, political and economic aims in the articulation of
the United Kingdom’s future approach to global regulation. By mapping
the transformative shifts in sovereignty paradigms, this article highlights
the disconnect between the absolutist sovereignty popularised in the UK
government’s political rhetoric and the concept of regulatory sovereignty
that underpins the UK’s future trading strategy. To maintain its status as a
global leader in regulation and standards-setting, the UK government will
need to diffuse power and delegate autonomy through networked orders of
public and private actors. These competing sovereignty paradigms are
analysed with reference to European Union (EU) law and practice, to
highlight the opportunities and challenges for the UK as an independent
trade actor. This article concludes by evaluating how sovereignty fictions
can disrupt the objectives of the UK’s proposed ‘common law’ approach to
regulatory governance and discusses the policy interventions that may be
required to enable the UK to harness its potential as a regulatory leader.
advance different legal, political and economic aims in the articulation of
the United Kingdom’s future approach to global regulation. By mapping
the transformative shifts in sovereignty paradigms, this article highlights
the disconnect between the absolutist sovereignty popularised in the UK
government’s political rhetoric and the concept of regulatory sovereignty
that underpins the UK’s future trading strategy. To maintain its status as a
global leader in regulation and standards-setting, the UK government will
need to diffuse power and delegate autonomy through networked orders of
public and private actors. These competing sovereignty paradigms are
analysed with reference to European Union (EU) law and practice, to
highlight the opportunities and challenges for the UK as an independent
trade actor. This article concludes by evaluating how sovereignty fictions
can disrupt the objectives of the UK’s proposed ‘common law’ approach to
regulatory governance and discusses the policy interventions that may be
required to enable the UK to harness its potential as a regulatory leader.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 563-588 |
Number of pages | 26 |
Journal | International and Comparative Law Quarterly |
Volume | 71 |
Issue number | 3 |
Early online date | 25 Jul 2022 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Jul 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press for the British Institute of International and Comparative Law.
Research Groups and Themes
- LAW Brexit
- Trade
- Sovereignty