A Search for Sovereignty

A Search for Sovereignty, first published in 2010, approaches world history by examining the relation of law and geography in European empires between 1400 and 1900. Lauren Benton argues that Europeans imagined imperial space as networks of corridors and enclaves, and that they constructed sovereignty in ways that merged ideas about geography and law. Conflicts over treason, pi...

A Search for Sovereignty, first published in 2010, approaches world history by examining the relation of law and geography in European empires between 1400 and 1900. Lauren Benton argues that Europeans imagined imperial space as networks of corridors and enclaves, and that they constructed sovereignty in ways that merged ideas about geography and law. Conflicts over treason, piracy, convict transportation, martial law, and crime created irregular spaces of law, while also attaching legal meanings to familiar geographic categories such as rivers, oceans, islands, and mountains. The resulting legal and spatial anomalies influenced debates about imperial constitutions and international law both in the colonies and at home. This study changes our understanding of empire and its legacies and opens new perspectives on the global history of law.

劳伦·本顿（Lauren Benton），美国比较史和世界史学家，耶鲁大学历史和法学教授，致力于研究欧洲帝国法律、国际法史和大西洋世界史。在关于全球法律秩序形成的活跃且持续的跨学科辩论中，劳伦·本顿的研究被认为不可或缺。她有三部开创性的比较法史著作为人们熟知，分别是《法律与殖民文化：世界史中的法律体系（1400—1900）》、《法律帝国的铸就：大英帝国法律史（1800—1850）》（与丽莎·福特教授合著）以及本书。《法律与殖民文化》曾获得“詹姆斯·威拉德·赫斯特图书奖”、“世界史协会图书奖”以及美国社会学协会的 “伊曼纽·沃勒斯坦纪念图书奖”。因其在全球历史研究中的巨大贡献和卓越成就，劳伦·本顿成为2019年美国“汤因比奖”得主。

李扬，法学博士，现为航天工程大学助理研究员，2016年毕业于北京大学，一直从事国际公法相关的研究。