Research Handbook on Soft Law

Edited by Mariolina Eliantonio, Professor of European and Comparative Administrative Law and Procedure, Faculty of Law, Maastricht University, the Netherlands, Emilia Korkea-aho, Professor of European Law and Legislative Studies, University of Eastern Finland, Finland and Ulrika Mörth, Professor of Political Science, Department of Political Science, Stockholm University, Sweden

This pioneering Research Handbook provides an in-depth scholarly overview of the field of soft law, exploring the scope of current thinking in the field as well as proposing future pathways for soft law research. Through theoretical and empirical analyses by established voices in the field, the Research Handbook offers important insights and much-needed clarity into the dynamic and complex nature of soft law.

This title contains one or more Open Access chapters.

‘This is a terrific collection on a subject of perennial interest, particularly (although not only) for international and European law scholars and practitioners. The editors have assembled a stellar line-up of contributors to address many of the persistent issues which the use and proliferation of soft law raise, including the reasons for its emergence as well as its impact, authority, limitations and future challenges.’
– Gráinne de Búrca, New York University, US

‘Soft law is at once a welcome addition to the instruments for governing and a challenge to traditional ideas of law and governance. This Research Handbook provides a thorough and thoughtful examination of the nature of soft law and its contributions to governing at the national and transnational levels. It is essential reading for scholars of law, political science, economics and governance.’
– B. Guy Peters, University of Pittsburgh, US

‘While soft law is increasingly central, its fuzziness – sitting between law and politics; the local and the global; the public and the private – makes it difficult to grasp for academics and practitioners alike. Into this darkness, this Research Handbook shines bright light, examining both soft law’s history and its development across policy fields. For its intellectual depth and empirical rigour, it deserves to be widely read.’
——马克·道森Hertie,德国ny

‘This Elgar Research Handbook on Soft Law provides critically important, grounded case studies of soft law in action across key policy fields, combined with conceptual and normative analyses for governance going forward, with significant implications for the major challenges that our societies face, from climate change, AI, and financial crises, to social inclusion and the rule of law.’
– Gregory Shaffer, Georgetown University Law Center, US