Chapter 1 reviews past scholarly ideals and political realities of a world constitution, focusing on the Covenant of the League of Nations and the Charter of the United Nations. It sketches out the core claims of the book according to which constitutional trends in world politics must be viewed with realistic skepticism and, in that light, can be understood in terms of a process called constitutionalization. This process does not generate the unified constitutional framework typically associated with national constitutions but manifests itself as an inadvertent by–product of piecemeal international treaty making driven by proximate objectives within issue–specific domains. The chapter then presents the major themes and limitations of the contemporary “constitutionalism beyond the state” debate and establishes how a social scientific perspective can add to this legal debate. It concludes with a preview of the book, emphasizing the main theoretical insights and empirical findings.

Operating against anarchy rather than hierarchy, international constitutionalization is a highly contested but unintended political process. It is a by–product of international treaty making, which is intended to create fairly specialized rules within issue–specific domains. Approximating the evolutionary pathway, this process nonetheless generates a less unified international constitutional framework than in the national setting. An examination of international constitutional developments (along the five core constitutional elements) reveals that formalization of international rules through treaties has become standard in the post–1945 period. Sovereignty has developed into the fundamental international principle, extending the circle of members to include newly emerging states. Relations among states have deepened to enhance inter–state cooperation, and rights and duties have further reproduced inequalities among states. The chapter concludes by stressing the inadvertent constitutional consequences of international treaty making, which leads to the constitutionalization trap.

Chapter 7 returns to the larger topic of constitutionalization in world politics by addressing its contemporary challenges and implications. Despite the strong evidence presented on the relationship of democracy, power, and international rule–based cooperation, recent events raise serious doubts regarding the constitutionalization of world politics. Current real–world developments challenge the continuing relevance of international treaty making, the support for cooperation from the major powers, the stability of democratic principles, and therefore the viability of constitutionalization itself. This chapter lays out those trends and puts them into longer–term perspective, arguing that, although they pose serious threats in world politics, they should not be overstated. The prospects of constitutionalization must be instead approached with realistic skepticism. What today appears as an impediment to constitutionalization may not be so consequential when viewed over the long run. A realistic perspective must therefore take global constitutionalization both skeptically and seriously.