Safrin: The Un-Exceptionalism of U.S. Exceptionalism

Sabrina Safrin (Rutgers Univ., Newark - Law) has posted The Un-Exceptionalism of U.S. Exceptionalism. Here's the abstract:

Between 1990 and 2006 over one thousand law review articles have appeared referencing United States legal exceptionalism or unilateralism. They decry the alleged U.S. tendency to seek special rules for itself that diverge from those applicable to other nations. In sharp contrast, over the same period, only six articles reference European exceptionalism or unilateralism and only a dozen refer to the exceptionalism or unilateralism of Russia, Japan, China, India, Africa and developing countries combined.

This article challenges the prevailing view that the United States acts exceptionally by examining the insufficiently considered legal exceptionalism of other countries. It puts U.S. Exceptionalism in perspective by identifying European Exceptionalism as well as Developing Country Exceptionalism, pointing to the exceptional rules sought by the European Union and by developing countries in numerous international agreements and institutions. It argues that most nations seek different international rules for themselves when they perceive themselves to have an exceptional need. Indeed, in cases of exceptional need, numerous countries believe themselves entitled to exceptional legal accommodation and may even perceive other countries' unwillingness to accommodate their needs as unfair. In fact, there are patterns to the requests for special treatment. For example, the United States often seeks special legal accomodation in military matters; the European Union seeks special rules to accommodate its unique and evolving status; and developing countries seek special rules to address their development needs.

I conclude by suggesting that the present emphasis on U.S. exceptionalism is overstated at best, and at its worst, misguided and even dangerous. Furthermore, having shown that most nations seek exceptional legal accommodation in certain situations, I identify some parameters for future work on the proper place for exceptionalism in international law.