In the twentieth century, traditional notions of state sovereignty underwent a profound transformation. Emerging principles of human rights and sustainable development revolutionized thinking about the responsibilities states have within their own territories. Sovereignty in its Westphalian...

This paper was presented at the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Society of International Law as part of a panel considering the 2012 U.N. Conference on Sustainable Development. It critiques the "Green Economy," a theme of the Rio 20 Conference, by emphasizing the core indeterminancy of the...