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The End of Law: Political Theology and the Crisis of Sovereignty (Nomos Studies in Law, Culture and Power)
Author(s): Mårten Björk (Author), Tormod Johansen (Author)
- Publisher: Routledge
- Publication Date: 22 Dec. 2025
- Edition: 1st
- Language: English
- Print length: 252 pages
- ISBN-10: 1032266252
- ISBN-13: 9781032266251
Book Description
This book examines how Gustav Radbruch, H. L. A. Hart, and Ernst-Wolfgang Böckenförde each addressed the question of the end of law, its function, and its normative foundation within the context of the modern legal and political order. Through a politico-theological reading, it highlights the tension between legal validity and moral legitimacy, as well as the extent to which law can maintain public order without compromising its own claim to justice.
The analysis of Radbruch, Hart, and Böckenförde sheds light on how valid law can become unjust, demanding actions that may conflict with individual judgment or morality. It raises questions about natural law, the relationship between morality and law, and law’s ultimate purpose, suggesting that law and politics represent, at best, a relative good. It addresses the broader crisis of legal authority and state sovereignty, the expanding reach of state power, and whether law should instruct, command, or ultimately point beyond itself.
The End of Law is of interest to scholars in legal theory, political theology, and the philosophy of law.
The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 license
Product description
Review
“A brilliant plea for why positive law needs to be taken to its end in order to reach justice. This book sets the stage for fruitful conversations between theologians and legal scholars. A crucial contribution to the discussion of political theology and philosophical anarchism.”
Miguel Vatter, Professor in Political Philosophy, Deakin University
https://experts.deakin.edu.au/56123-miguel-vatter
"Providing a controversial response to the contentious relationship between law and human flourishing, this book will stimulate discussion among scholars of legal theory, the philosophy of law, political theology, ethics, religious studies, and religious law."
Judith Hahn, Professor of Canon Law, University of Bonn
https://www.ktf.uni-bonn.de/faecher/kirchenrecht
"This is an inspiring and timely book that arrives at a moment when hope and utopian thinking are urgently needed. Drawing on a compelling interpretation of the classical jurisprudential canon, it offers an original perspective on the role of law at the intersection of jurisprudence, political theology, and intellectual history." -
Cosmin Cercel, Professor in Legal History, Ghent University
https://research.ugent.be/web/person/cosmin-cercel-0/en
About the Author
Mårten Björk is Senior Lecturer at the Newman Institute in Uppsala, Associate Fellow at Campion Hall, Oxford University, and Researcher in Systematic Theology at Lund University.
Tormod Johansen is Senior Lecturer and Docent in Public Law at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
