(Transnational) law for the Anthropocene: revisiting Jessup’s move from ‘what?’ to ‘how?’

The ‘question of possibilities’ as a leitmotif for re‐imagining law for the ‘Anthropocene’

“…In light of these concerns, my aim here is neither to develop a novel concept of law, nor to propose new legal substance, in terms of norms, principles, or categories. Rather, I build on the argument that legal scholarship must ‘move from “what?” to “how?”’: instead of starting by asking what law for the Anthropocene is, or what it should be, in terms of its normative content, conceptual form, or legal technique, there is a need to first engage with the anterior question of how law could more meaningfully respond to Anthropocene realities (see Mai, 2019). In other words, what attitudes, dispositions, practices, and strategies hinder, and which ones can help, the project of re‐imagining law for the Anthropocene?…”

“…to "how? "': instead of starting by asking what law for the Anthropocene is, or what it should be, in terms of its normative content, conceptual form, or legal technique, there is a need to first engage with the anterior question of how law could more meaningfully respond to Anthropocene realities (see Mai, 2019). In other words, what attitudes, dispositions, practices, and strategies hinder, and which ones can help, the project of re-imagining law for the Anthropocene?…”