In this webinar, Professor Daniel Lee will speak on the theory and the history of sovereignty. He will address how doctrines of Roman private law were used to craft the doctrine of sovereignty used in modern international law and public law. His talk will address topics such as the intellectual origins of sovereignty, the uses of ancient law by jurists such as Jean Bodin and Hugo Grotius to create the modern concept of sovereignty, and the legacy of ancient law in modern empire-building. Professor Lee will be joined by the Centre’s deputy Director, Professor Bill Hurst, who is convener of the Ancient Geopolitics series.
Biography:
Daniel Lee is Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley. He specialises in political theory, the history of political thought, and jurisprudence. His research concerns the reception of Roman and canon law in modern political thought (especially Jean Bodin and Hugo Grotius) and their continuing influence on modern doctrines of statehood, sovereignty, rights, and international law. Professor Lee is the author of The Right of Sovereignty: Jean Bodin on the Sovereign State and the Law of Nations (Oxford, 2021) and Popular Sovereignty in Early Modern Constitutional Thought (Oxford, 2016).
