Foreword: Perspectives on the Principle of Equality

Venzke, Ingo

Foreword: Perspectives on the Principle of Equality

Forthcoming in: Amoroso D., Marotti L., Rossi P., Spagnolo A., Zarra G. (eds), Perspectives on the Principle of Equality from International and EU Law (2022)

Amsterdam Law School Research Paper No. 2022-17

Amsterdam Center for International Law No. 2022-09

7 Pages Posted: 13 Jul 2022

See all articles by Ingo Venzke

Ingo Venzke

University of Amsterdam - Amsterdam Center for International Law

Date Written: July 12, 2022

Abstract

The relationship between formal and material equality is complex and unsteady. Its investigation in the present volume is as foundational as it is timely. Levels of global inequality in wealth and resource consumption are just staggering, only aggravated by the climate and health crises. Authoritarian populism pushes back against equal rights for all. And displays of power politics put differences in geo-political prowess into stark relief. What is the role of the law and its embedded claims to equality? What is its relationship with material, substantive inequality? I want to distinguish three ways of thinking about this relationship in terms of domination, emancipation, and fluctuation.

Keywords: Inequality, International Law, European Law, Formal Equality, Material Equality, Domination, Emancipation, Fluctuation

JEL Classification: K33

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Venzke, Ingo, Foreword: Perspectives on the Principle of Equality (July 12, 2022). Forthcoming in: Amoroso D., Marotti L., Rossi P., Spagnolo A., Zarra G. (eds), Perspectives on the Principle of Equality from International and EU Law (2022), Amsterdam Law School Research Paper No. 2022-17, Amsterdam Center for International Law No. 2022-09, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4160802