INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY OF
GLOBAL LAW
2025-2026
WEEK 1: HOBBES
Core problem: social disorder & legitimacy
• Legitimacy = the ability to justify power with reasons to those subject to it.
• Medieval pluralism -> modern centralized sovereign state
• Rise of individualism required new justification for political authority
I. State of Nature
• Lived through civil wars -> obsessed with security and civil peace
• Methodological individualism: understand individuals first, then political order
• State of nature = dystopia:
o No law, no property, no contracts, no industry, no culture.
o Equal capacity -> mutual distrust
o Natural right: do whatever necessary for survival
• Unlimited freedom is self-defeating
• Legal positivism: law = what public authority enacts
II. Laws of Nature
• People leave the state of nature due to:
o Passions (fear of death, desire for security)
o Reason (recognizing what is necessary for peace)
• Key laws:
o Seek peace
o Coordination of liberties
§ give up as much liberty as you want others to give up
o Contracts must be kept (pacta sunt servanda)
§ but only binding with external authority
, Introduction to Philosophy of Global Law
III. The sovereign
• Social contract: individuals mutually transfer natural rights to a sovereign
• Sovereign’s powers:
o Represent common interests
o Decide on peace and safety
o Make and enforce law
• Sovereign is absolute, indivisible, and outside the law
• Cannot act unjustly (he defines justice)
• Right to self-defense is inalienable
• Sovereign must maintain internal and external security
• Circularity problem: trust is needed to make the contract, but trust only exists after the sovereign
is created
WEEK 2: LOCKE
Page 2
, Introduction to Philosophy of Global Law
I. Introduction to liberalism
Core idea of liberalism
• Liberalism is a diverse philosophical tradition centered on individual freedom and the idea that
state power must be limited. No rational person, liberals argue, would consent to be ruled by an
absolute sovereign who could arbitrarily restrict liberty or property. Liberalism therefore rejects
absolute authority and emphasizes justification and restraint of power
Ten core liberal principles
• Freedom as a primary political value
o Isaiah Berlin distinguishes:
§ Negative liberty: freedom from coercion or interference (“I am no one’s slave”).
§ Positive liberty: freedom to act upon one’s will (“I am my own master”).
• Example: university education may be legally available (negative liberty)
but not economically accessible (positive liberty).
• Individualism
o Liberalism relies on methodological individualism: individuals, not groups, are the basic
units of society. All individuals are free, equal, and equal before the law, implying non-
discrimination.
• Skepticism about power
o Power is viewed with suspicion because it allows some to influence others’ choices.
State power must always be justified.
• Rule of Law
o All public action is subject to law. The rule of law limits public authority and protects
individual rights and freedoms.
• Importance of civil society
o Civil society consists of voluntary associations outside the state and market (e.g.
churches, charities). Liberals often argue that social problems are better addressed here
than by state bureaucracies.
• Spontaneous order
o Not all social order is imposed from above. Many forms of order arise naturally from
individual interactions (e.g. queues, traffic norms). This contrasts with Hobbes’s view
that order requires an external sovereign.
• Free markets
o The state should not plan the economy. Its role is to protect private property and ensure
peaceful dispute resolution.
• Toleration
o Individuals should not interfere with practices they disapprove of. Liberalism is strongly
opposed to paternalism.
• Peace
o Domestically through organized society; internationally through free movement and
trade. The European common market is presented as an example of economic
integration fostering peace.
• Limited government
o The government exists mainly to secure negative freedom and prevent coercion among
citizens. Even legislative power is limited, and law should generally prohibit harmful
actions rather than impose positive obligations.
Page 3
GLOBAL LAW
2025-2026
WEEK 1: HOBBES
Core problem: social disorder & legitimacy
• Legitimacy = the ability to justify power with reasons to those subject to it.
• Medieval pluralism -> modern centralized sovereign state
• Rise of individualism required new justification for political authority
I. State of Nature
• Lived through civil wars -> obsessed with security and civil peace
• Methodological individualism: understand individuals first, then political order
• State of nature = dystopia:
o No law, no property, no contracts, no industry, no culture.
o Equal capacity -> mutual distrust
o Natural right: do whatever necessary for survival
• Unlimited freedom is self-defeating
• Legal positivism: law = what public authority enacts
II. Laws of Nature
• People leave the state of nature due to:
o Passions (fear of death, desire for security)
o Reason (recognizing what is necessary for peace)
• Key laws:
o Seek peace
o Coordination of liberties
§ give up as much liberty as you want others to give up
o Contracts must be kept (pacta sunt servanda)
§ but only binding with external authority
, Introduction to Philosophy of Global Law
III. The sovereign
• Social contract: individuals mutually transfer natural rights to a sovereign
• Sovereign’s powers:
o Represent common interests
o Decide on peace and safety
o Make and enforce law
• Sovereign is absolute, indivisible, and outside the law
• Cannot act unjustly (he defines justice)
• Right to self-defense is inalienable
• Sovereign must maintain internal and external security
• Circularity problem: trust is needed to make the contract, but trust only exists after the sovereign
is created
WEEK 2: LOCKE
Page 2
, Introduction to Philosophy of Global Law
I. Introduction to liberalism
Core idea of liberalism
• Liberalism is a diverse philosophical tradition centered on individual freedom and the idea that
state power must be limited. No rational person, liberals argue, would consent to be ruled by an
absolute sovereign who could arbitrarily restrict liberty or property. Liberalism therefore rejects
absolute authority and emphasizes justification and restraint of power
Ten core liberal principles
• Freedom as a primary political value
o Isaiah Berlin distinguishes:
§ Negative liberty: freedom from coercion or interference (“I am no one’s slave”).
§ Positive liberty: freedom to act upon one’s will (“I am my own master”).
• Example: university education may be legally available (negative liberty)
but not economically accessible (positive liberty).
• Individualism
o Liberalism relies on methodological individualism: individuals, not groups, are the basic
units of society. All individuals are free, equal, and equal before the law, implying non-
discrimination.
• Skepticism about power
o Power is viewed with suspicion because it allows some to influence others’ choices.
State power must always be justified.
• Rule of Law
o All public action is subject to law. The rule of law limits public authority and protects
individual rights and freedoms.
• Importance of civil society
o Civil society consists of voluntary associations outside the state and market (e.g.
churches, charities). Liberals often argue that social problems are better addressed here
than by state bureaucracies.
• Spontaneous order
o Not all social order is imposed from above. Many forms of order arise naturally from
individual interactions (e.g. queues, traffic norms). This contrasts with Hobbes’s view
that order requires an external sovereign.
• Free markets
o The state should not plan the economy. Its role is to protect private property and ensure
peaceful dispute resolution.
• Toleration
o Individuals should not interfere with practices they disapprove of. Liberalism is strongly
opposed to paternalism.
• Peace
o Domestically through organized society; internationally through free movement and
trade. The European common market is presented as an example of economic
integration fostering peace.
• Limited government
o The government exists mainly to secure negative freedom and prevent coercion among
citizens. Even legislative power is limited, and law should generally prohibit harmful
actions rather than impose positive obligations.
Page 3
