Private Law Beyond the State? Europeanization, Globalization, Privatization*

Abstract

Although the changing relation between private law and the state has become the subject of many debates, these debates are often unsatisfactory. Concepts like “law,” “private law,” and “globalization” have unclear and shifting meanings; discussions are confined to specific questions and do not connect with parallel discussions taking place elsewhere. In order to initiate the necessary broader approach, this article brings together the pertinent themes and aspects from various debates. It proposes a conceptual clarification of key notions in the debate—“ private law,” “state,” “Europeanization,” “globalization,” and “privatization”—that should be of use beyond the immediate purposes of the rest of the article. It also suggests how one should analyze and categorize both the problems the modern developments create and the solutions that these problems might call for. It does not attempt to analyze which solution is the best one. But in unveiling common structures, both within and between the various debates, this article should help significantly in providing the further discussion of these solutions within a more rational framework.

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