Cover -- Table of Contents -- Outline of the field of research (Jan Kysela) -- I. Contemporary scepticism about modern state -- II. Networks, legal polycentrism, constitutional pluralism -- III. Growth of modern state -- IV. Factors limiting a state's power -- IV.1 External limits -- IV.1.1 Plurality of states -- IV.1.2 International law -- IV.1.3 European law and European integration -- IV.1.4 Globalisation -- IV.2 Internal limits -- IV.2.1 Disappearance of the raison d'état -- IV.2.2 Human rights -- IV.2.3 Strengthening the judicial branch at the expense of political branches -- IV.2.4 Weakening of public space, rights of individuals and minorities -- IV.2.5 Technological development -- IV.2.6 Outsourcing of state -- IV.2.7 Unregulated social authority -- V. Partial summary -- International law limits on state power. Limitation of state power by international law at the beginning of the 21st century (Pavel Ondřejek) -- I. Changing sources of legitimacy of international law -- II. International law as a system of evaluation of compliance with general principles -- III. Growing importance of international institutions and the international judiciary in particular -- IV. International obligations of the state and the effect of international law in national law -- The State and the European Union (Jan Grinc, Jana Ondřejková) -- I. Transformations of the state and its importance within the European Union -- I.1 Limitation of Member States' powers -- I.2 The impact of integration on the constitutional systems of the Member States -- I.3 Importance of the state for the European Union? -- II. National identity -- II.1 Legal concept of constitutional and national identity -- II.2 Constitutional identity as a part of the limits on EU law and EU institutions.

II.3 Applicable mechanisms of effective protection of national identity within the existing EU treaties framework -- III. The Principle of Subsidiarity -- III.1 The principle of subsidiarity in the EU law -- III.2 Subsidiarity control by the national parliaments: the early warning mechanism and its interpretation -- III.3 Subsidiarity control in practice -- Human rights limits on state power (Jan Broz, Pavel Ondřejek) -- I. Introduction -- II. The origin and sources of legitimacy of human rights, and their relation to state power -- III. Horizons and functions of human rights in legal orders -- IV. Constitutional rights and limitation of law-making power -- Societal limits on the state (Michal Urban, Jan Kysela) -- I. Distrust in the state -- I.1 The case of the Czech Republic -- I.2 Distrust in public interest -- II. Transferring state power to other entities within the state -- II.1 Political parties -- II.2 Direct democracy and direct action -- II.3 Corporativism -- II.4 Civil society -- II.5 Outsourcing -- Conclusion -- Conclusions (Jan Kysela) -- I. Summary -- II. What is left of sovereignty? -- III. In conclusion -- Bibliography -- Index.