Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Today international law is everywhere. Wars are fought and opposed in its name. It is invoked to claim rights and to challenge them, to indict or support political leaders, to distribute resources and to expand or limit the powers of domestic and international institutions. International law is part of the way political (and economic) power is used, critiqued, and sometimes limited. Despite its claim for neutrality and impartiality, it is implicit in what is just, as well as what is unjust in the world. To understand its operation requires shedding its ideological spell and examining it with a cold eye. Who are its winners, and who are its losers? How - if at all - can it be used to make a better or a less unjust world?In this collection of essays Professor Martti Koskenniemi, a well-known practitioner and a leading theorist and historian of international law, examines the recent debates on humanitarian intervention, collective security, protection of human rights and the 'fight against impunity' and reflects on the use of the professional techniques of international law to intervene politically. The essays both illustrate and expand his influential theory of the role of international law in international politics. The book is prefaced with an introduction by Professor Emmanuelle Jouannet (Sorbonne Law School), which locates the texts in the overall thought and work of Martti Koskenniemi.
Synopsis
Today, international law is everywhere. Wars are declared and conducted in its name, and in its name rights are both protected and renounced. It is also international law which determines who owns and uses the world's scarcest resources. Thus, international law is part of a dangerous and unjust world - a part of how we are governed globally. But, it can also be used to challenge aspects of this world and to give voice to projects which seek to transform the institutions of global governance. In this collection of essays, Professor Martti Koskenniemi - a well known practitioner and one of the great theorists and historians of international law - examines the recent debates on humanitarian intervention, collective security, protection of human rights, and the 'fight against impunity.' Additionally, Koskenniemi reflects on the use of the professional techniques of international law to intervene politically. The essays both illustrate and expand his influential theory of the critical role of international law in international politics.