In 2010, Martin Loughlin, Professor of Public Law at the LSE, published Foundations of Public Law, 'an account of the foundation of the discipline of public law with a view to identifying its essential character'. The book has become a landmark in the field, and it has been said, notably by one of its major critics, that it now provides the 'starting point' for any deeper inquiry into the subject. The purpose of this volume is to engage critically with Foundations - conceptually, comparatively and historically - from the viewpoints of public law, private law, political, social and legal theory, as well as jurisdictional perspectives including the UK, US, India, and Continental Europe. Scholars also consider the legacy and continuing relevance of Foundations in the light of developments in transnational law, global law and regional integration in the European Union.

Part I: Introducing the Foundations of Public Law1. Questioning the Foundations of Public Law and Questioning Foundations of Public Law Michael A Wilkinson and Michael W Dowdle2. Political Jurisprudence Martin Loughlin Part II: The Methodological Critique3. Questioning a Uniform Concept of Public Law Andrew Halpin4. The Tragic Politics of Public Law Panu Minkkinen5. Immanence and Irreconcilability: On the Character of Public Law as Political Jurisprudence Jacco Bomhoff Part III: The Normative Critique6. Concrete Order Formation or Rational Will Formation? Constituent Power as the Ratio of Voluntas Hauke Brunkhorst7. Private Law, Potentia and the Ethical: On What Justification Does the State Coercively Tax its Subjects in Order to Build Bridges, Fund the BBC, and Subsidise Charities? James Penner8. A Conventional Narrative: The Rhetorical Shape of Foundations of Public Law Anna Yeatman9. Foundations of Public Law and Postnational Constitutionalism Neil Walker Part IV: The Material Critique10. Putting Public Law in its Place: State-Theoretical Comments on Foundations of Public Law Bob Jessop11. The Materiality of Political Jurisprudence Marco Goldoni12. Public Law and the Autonomy of the Political: A Material Critique Michael A Wilkinson Part V: The Comparative Critique13. Foundations of Public Law: A View from the United States Mark Tushnet14. The Elusive Quest for Community: The Making of Political Identity in Modern Indian Constitutionalism Mathew John15. Uncovering the Foundations of Administrative Law? Denis Baranger Part VI: The Response16. Excavating Foundations Martin LoughlinBibliography ...........................................................................................................................277Index ......................................................................................................................................291