Synopses & Reviews
This study presents a comprehensive and authoritative assessment of the U.S. role in the United Nations negotiations on the Law of Sea and on one of the remaining commons, the ocean floor beyond national jurisdiction. Drawing on material collected from interviews with many key negotiators, the study provides a better understanding of domestic and international decision-making procedures and the dynamics of international negotiations.
Review
"Fascinating. His interviews with some 140 people, including almost all of the principal U.S. participants as well as many, but not all, of the other key figures, combined with extensive study of the literature (not least the two allegedly 'deep-throat' articles published in the New Yorker in 1983) have enabled Schmidt to provide an authoritative account of relationships within the delegation, between it and Washington and of the impact of American policy on the Convention."--International Relations
"The book is thorough. It is, moreover, unique not merely because of the author's great initiative and industry in securing his many interviews, but also because it is the only account of the development of the deep sea-bed mining regime from its early stages to the present which emphasizes the particular role of the key country, the United States."--International and Comparative Law Quarterly
"The book seems to be the best study ever written on the deep sea-bed regime in the context of international law and international relations, and will certainly prove to be a valuable guide for both scholars and practitioners dealing with ocean affairs and the law of the sea."--Netherlands International Law Review
"What makes Common Heritage or Common Burden? unique is that Schmidt writes objectively to reveal the behind-the-scenes action rather than to argue a position on the United States vote."--Houston Journal of International Law
"Belongs on the bookshelves of all serious students of the Third United Nations Law of the Sea Conference."--Marine Technology Society Journal
Description
Includes bibliographical references ([329]-358) and indexes.