Alec Stone Sweet
Encyclopedia
Alec Stone Sweet grew up in Bellingham, Washington. He is Leitner Professor of Law, Politics, and International Studies at the Yale Law School
, and a notable author, musician, and Petanque
player.
(BA, Political Science), the Johns Hopkins SAIS (MA, International Relations), and the University of Washington
(Ph.D., Political Science). Prior to moving to the Yale Law School in 2004, he was Official Fellow and Chair of Comparative Government at Nuffield College (1998–2005), and Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Irvine
(1991–1998). He has also taught in universities in France, India, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden.
Stone Sweet works in the fields of comparative and international politics, comparative and international law, and European integration. He has published eleven books and edited volumes, and more than 70 papers, including in the American Journal of Sociology, the American Political Science Review, Comparative Political Studies, West European Politics, the International Journal of Constitutional Law, the Journal of European Public Policy, and the Revue Française de Science Politique. Many of the most important papers are freely available on his Selected Works site.
Stone Sweet's research has had broad influence in both law and the social sciences. The 1996 paper, “Judicialization and the Construction of Governance” (published in 1999) developed a theory of “judicialization,” explaining how judicial power emerges, institutionalizes, and impacts on markets and politics. The paper also made an important contribution to new institutional thinking in the social sciences, showing how rationalist and more sociological or constructivist approaches could (or must) be blended to explain macro-institutional change. Stone Sweet is also credited (through the books, The Birth of Judicial Politics in France, and Governing with Judges) with reviving the study of comparative constitutional law, which is now a thriving area of research. Indeed, he has been called the "Contemporary Godfather of Comparative Constitutional Law." In his research on the evolution of the European Union
, he partnered with Wayne Sandholtz and Neil Fligstein to update Ernst Haas
' theory of integration, called neofunctionalism
. and to test it against rival theories. This work (especially the books, European Integration and Supranational Governance, The Institutionalization of Europe, and The Judicial Construction of Europe) demonstrated that integration proceeded as the activities of market actors, lobbyists, legislators, and judges became connected to one another. “These linkages, in turn, produced a self-reinforcing, causal system that has driven integration and given the EU its fundamentally expansionary character.” The research also showed that intergovernmentalist theories of European integration
– which emphasized the centrality of State officials and their preferences, and downplayed transnational and supranational actors – were seriously flawed, failing to explain many of the most important market and political developments. His most recent work concerns human rights, and the constitutionalization of international regimes.
Memory and Praise contains Irish harp, bagpipe, and dance tunes, as well as the first solos ever recorded in clawhammer
guitar style, two medleys of Appalachian fiddle tunes played in clawhammer style. In 2001, it was one of five recordings nominated for a 2001 Indie Award - the Best Acoustic Instrumental category. Eric Schoenberg
called it “as beautiful a solo guitar recording as I have ever heard.” Jody Stecher
praised the “extraordinary guitar playing, resembling no one else in touch, technique, or feel.” Stone Sweet was featured in an article on Celtic Guitar by Acoustic Guitar Magazine, where he discusses dance tunes, guitar tunings, and influences on his playing.
In Tumblin’ Gap, Stone Sweet plays Appalachian and Celtic music using the Clawhammer
style that he developed from old time banjo playing. The album was named one of the top ten recordings of 2005 by several critics and radio stations. In its review, Acoustic Guitar Magazine described the CD as follows: “Entrancing, the rhythmic sense and phrasing are spot on. Compulsory listening for guitar fans, Tumblin’ Gap is the kind of surprising recording that inspires new movements.” Bill Hicks, in his review for the Old Time Herald, wrote that: “Alec Stone Sweet is a guitar virtuoso…[his new] record would serve to explain to the uninitiated just why we care so much about these old melodies, about just what a tune is really about.” Stone Sweet explains how he developed and uses Clawhammer
techniques on his guitar page.
in France, mostly in the Marseille area. Several times U.S. champion, he represented the United States at the World Pétanque Championships in 2003 (Geneva, Switzerland), 2005 (Brussels, Belgium), 2006 (Grenoble, France), and 2007 (Pattaya, Thailand). He has written extensively about the competitive Pétanque world in France, Marseille, Madagascar, and Thailand. His reports are posted on the website of his home club in the USA: La Boule New Yorkaise. In 2007 and 2008, Stone Sweet was the last foreign-born player to lose in the la Marseillaise à Pétanque, the world’s biggest Pétanque tournament, falling 12-13 in the ninth game, with only 16 teams remaining out of the original 4,338. In 2008, he lost at the same stage of the event, 11-13. He has been appeared on French television and in articles published in local newspapers around France and, in 2008, the French magazine, Boulisme, featured him in its “Profile” section.
Yale Law School
Yale Law School, or YLS, is the law school of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Established in 1824, it offers the J.D., LL.M., J.S.D. and M.S.L. degrees in law. It also hosts visiting scholars, visiting researchers and a number of legal research centers...
, and a notable author, musician, and Petanque
Pétanque
Pétanque is a form of boules where the goal is, while standing inside a starting circle with both feet on the ground, to throw hollow metal balls as close as possible to a small wooden ball called a cochonnet or jack. It is also sometimes called a bouchon or le petit...
player.
Scholarship
Stone Sweet graduated from Western Washington UniversityWestern Washington University
Western Washington University is one of six state-funded, four-year universities of higher education in the U.S. state of Washington. It is located in Bellingham and offers bachelor's and master's degrees.-History:...
(BA, Political Science), the Johns Hopkins SAIS (MA, International Relations), and the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
(Ph.D., Political Science). Prior to moving to the Yale Law School in 2004, he was Official Fellow and Chair of Comparative Government at Nuffield College (1998–2005), and Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Irvine
University of California, Irvine
The University of California, Irvine , founded in 1965, is one of the ten campuses of the University of California, located in Irvine, California, USA...
(1991–1998). He has also taught in universities in France, India, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden.
Stone Sweet works in the fields of comparative and international politics, comparative and international law, and European integration. He has published eleven books and edited volumes, and more than 70 papers, including in the American Journal of Sociology, the American Political Science Review, Comparative Political Studies, West European Politics, the International Journal of Constitutional Law, the Journal of European Public Policy, and the Revue Française de Science Politique. Many of the most important papers are freely available on his Selected Works site.
Stone Sweet's research has had broad influence in both law and the social sciences. The 1996 paper, “Judicialization and the Construction of Governance” (published in 1999) developed a theory of “judicialization,” explaining how judicial power emerges, institutionalizes, and impacts on markets and politics. The paper also made an important contribution to new institutional thinking in the social sciences, showing how rationalist and more sociological or constructivist approaches could (or must) be blended to explain macro-institutional change. Stone Sweet is also credited (through the books, The Birth of Judicial Politics in France, and Governing with Judges) with reviving the study of comparative constitutional law, which is now a thriving area of research. Indeed, he has been called the "Contemporary Godfather of Comparative Constitutional Law." In his research on the evolution of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, he partnered with Wayne Sandholtz and Neil Fligstein to update Ernst Haas
Ernst Haas
Ernst Haas was an Austrian artist and influential photographer noted for his innovations in color photography, experiments in abstract light and form, and as a member of the Magnum Photos agency....
' theory of integration, called neofunctionalism
Neofunctionalism
Neofunctionalism is a theory of regional integration, building on the work of Ernst B. Haas, an American political scientist and also Leon Lindberg, an American political scientist...
. and to test it against rival theories. This work (especially the books, European Integration and Supranational Governance, The Institutionalization of Europe, and The Judicial Construction of Europe) demonstrated that integration proceeded as the activities of market actors, lobbyists, legislators, and judges became connected to one another. “These linkages, in turn, produced a self-reinforcing, causal system that has driven integration and given the EU its fundamentally expansionary character.” The research also showed that intergovernmentalist theories of European integration
European integration
European integration is the process of industrial, political, legal, economic integration of states wholly or partially in Europe...
– which emphasized the centrality of State officials and their preferences, and downplayed transnational and supranational actors – were seriously flawed, failing to explain many of the most important market and political developments. His most recent work concerns human rights, and the constitutionalization of international regimes.
Music
Stone Sweet has recorded three CDs, including Memory and Praise: Acoustic Guitar Solos (Appleseed and Solid Air), and Tumblin’ Gap: Clawhammer Guitar Solos (Solid Air).Memory and Praise contains Irish harp, bagpipe, and dance tunes, as well as the first solos ever recorded in clawhammer
Clawhammer
Clawhammer is a highly rhythmic banjo playing style and common component of American old-time music. The principal difference between clawhammer style and other styles is the picking direction...
guitar style, two medleys of Appalachian fiddle tunes played in clawhammer style. In 2001, it was one of five recordings nominated for a 2001 Indie Award - the Best Acoustic Instrumental category. Eric Schoenberg
Eric Schoenberg
Eric Schoenberg is an American guitarist known for his fingerstyle guitar playing, as well as a recording artist and designer of acoustic guitars....
called it “as beautiful a solo guitar recording as I have ever heard.” Jody Stecher
Jody Stecher
Jody Stecher is an American singer and musician, who plays bluegrass and old-time music on banjo, mandolin, fiddle and guitar, and Dagar-vani dhrupad on the sursringar, a rare Indian instrument that is a baritone relative of the sarod....
praised the “extraordinary guitar playing, resembling no one else in touch, technique, or feel.” Stone Sweet was featured in an article on Celtic Guitar by Acoustic Guitar Magazine, where he discusses dance tunes, guitar tunings, and influences on his playing.
In Tumblin’ Gap, Stone Sweet plays Appalachian and Celtic music using the Clawhammer
Clawhammer
Clawhammer is a highly rhythmic banjo playing style and common component of American old-time music. The principal difference between clawhammer style and other styles is the picking direction...
style that he developed from old time banjo playing. The album was named one of the top ten recordings of 2005 by several critics and radio stations. In its review, Acoustic Guitar Magazine described the CD as follows: “Entrancing, the rhythmic sense and phrasing are spot on. Compulsory listening for guitar fans, Tumblin’ Gap is the kind of surprising recording that inspires new movements.” Bill Hicks, in his review for the Old Time Herald, wrote that: “Alec Stone Sweet is a guitar virtuoso…[his new] record would serve to explain to the uninitiated just why we care so much about these old melodies, about just what a tune is really about.” Stone Sweet explains how he developed and uses Clawhammer
Clawhammer
Clawhammer is a highly rhythmic banjo playing style and common component of American old-time music. The principal difference between clawhammer style and other styles is the picking direction...
techniques on his guitar page.
Pétanque
Stone Sweet plays competitive PétanquePétanque
Pétanque is a form of boules where the goal is, while standing inside a starting circle with both feet on the ground, to throw hollow metal balls as close as possible to a small wooden ball called a cochonnet or jack. It is also sometimes called a bouchon or le petit...
in France, mostly in the Marseille area. Several times U.S. champion, he represented the United States at the World Pétanque Championships in 2003 (Geneva, Switzerland), 2005 (Brussels, Belgium), 2006 (Grenoble, France), and 2007 (Pattaya, Thailand). He has written extensively about the competitive Pétanque world in France, Marseille, Madagascar, and Thailand. His reports are posted on the website of his home club in the USA: La Boule New Yorkaise. In 2007 and 2008, Stone Sweet was the last foreign-born player to lose in the la Marseillaise à Pétanque, the world’s biggest Pétanque tournament, falling 12-13 in the ninth game, with only 16 teams remaining out of the original 4,338. In 2008, he lost at the same stage of the event, 11-13. He has been appeared on French television and in articles published in local newspapers around France and, in 2008, the French magazine, Boulisme, featured him in its “Profile” section.
Selected Books
- The Birth of Judicial Politics in France (Oxford University Press, 1992) http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780195070347.do?
- European Integration and Supranational Governance (Oxford University Press, 1998)http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780198294641.do?
- Governing with Judges (Oxford University Press, 2000)http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780198297307.do?
- The Institutionalization of Europe (Oxford University Press, 2001)http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780199247950.do?
- The Politics of Delegation (Cass, 2003)
- On Law, Politics, and Judicialization (Oxford University Press, 2003)http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780199256471.do
- The Judicial Construction of Europe (Oxford University Press, 2004)http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780199275526.do?
- A Europe of Rights: The Impact of the ECHR on National Legal Systems (Oxford University Press, 2008).http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780199535262.do?