The Degradation of the International Legal Order?: The Rehabilitation of Law and the Possibility of PoliticsProviding the basis for critical engagement with the pessimism of the contemporary age, The Degradation of the International Legal Order? argues passionately for a rehabilitation of the honour of historic events and processes, and of their role in generating legal concepts. Drawing primarily from the Marxian tradition, but also engaging with a range of contemporary work in critical theory and critical legal and human rights scholarship, this book analyses historical and recent international events and processes in order to challenge their orthodox interpretation. What is thus proposed is a new evaluation of international legal principles and human rights norms, the revolutionary content of which, it is argued, turns them from mere rhetoric into powerful weapons of struggle. Accessibly written, but theoretically sophisticated, this original and timely book is intended for critical teachers and students of international law, human rights, and international relations, as well as legal and political activists. |
Contents
The degradation of international law? 39 | |
The legality of the invasion and occupation of Iraq 61 | 29 |
Ideology in international law and the critique of Habermas 99 | 53 |
A substantive account of human rights 111 | 70 |
Human rights as the negation of politics? 119 | 88 |
Postmodernreconstructions of human rights 131 | 107 |
The challenge of methodological individualism | 149 |
The scandal of social and economic rights | 165 |
The problem of legal transplantation and human rights 183 | 1997 |
References 209 | 1997 |
Index 233 | 2011 |
Other editions - View all
The Degradation of the International Legal Order?: The Rehabilitation of Law ... Bill Bowring No preview available - 2008 |
The Degradation of the International Legal Order?: The Rehabilitation of Law ... Bill Bowring No preview available - 2008 |