The question of military intervention for humanitarian purposes is a major focus for international law, the United Nations, regional organizations such as NATO, and the foreign policies of nations. Against this background, the 2011 bombing in Libya by Western nations has occasioned renewed interest and concern about armed humanitarian intervention (AHI) and the doctrine of Responsibility to Protect (RtoP). This volume brings together new essays by leading international, philosophical, and ...

Today it is usually not long before a problem gets expressed as a human rights issue. An appeal to human rights in the face of injustice can be a heartfelt and morally justified demand for some, while for others it remains merely an empty slogan. Taking an international perspective and focusing on highly topical issues such as torture, arbitrary detention, privacy, health and discrimination, this Very Short Introduction will help readers to understand for themselves the controversies and comp...

The subject of international security is never out of the headlines. The subjects of war and peace, military strategy, the proliferation of nuclear weapons and revisionist states remain central to the discussion, but burgeoning concerns such as climate change, migration, poverty, health, and international terrorism have complicated the field. So what really matters? The traditional prioritization of state security or the security needs of individuals, humanity, and the biosphere? And where...

Human rights is an important issue in contemporary politics, and the last few decades have also seen a remarkable increase in research and teaching on the subject. This book introduces students to the study of human rights and aims to build on their interest while simultaneously offering an alternative vision of the subject. Many texts focus on the theoretical and legal issues surrounding human rights. This book adopts a substantially different approach which uses empirical data derived fr...

Ian Shapiro makes a compelling case that the overriding purpose of politics should be to combat domination. Moreover, he shows how to put resistance to domination into practice at home and abroad. This is a major work of applied political theory, a profound challenge to utopian visions, and a guide to fundamental problems of justice and distribution.“Shapiro’s insights are trenchant, especially with regards to the Citizens United decision, and his counsel on how the ‘statu...

The establishment of durable, democratic institutions constitutes one of the major challenges of our age. As countless contemporary examples have shown, it requires far more than simply the holding of free elections. The consolidation of a legitimate constitutional order is difficult to achieve in any society, but it is especially problematic in societies with deep social cleavages.This book provides an authoritative and systematic analysis of the politics of so-called 'deeply divi...

This stimulating and accessible introduction to comparative politics offers a fresh perspective on the fundamentals of political science. Its central theme is the enduring political significance of the modern state despite severe challenges to its sovereignty. There are three main sections to the book. The first traces the origins and meaning of the state and proceeds to explore its relationship to the practice of politics. The second examines how states are governed and compares patterns ...

This book provides a succinct but sophisticated understanding of humanitarianism and insight into the on-going dilemmas and tensions that have accompanied it since its origins in the early nineteenth century. Combining theoretical and historical exposition with a broad range of contemporary case studies, the book:provides a brief survey of the history of humanitarianism, beginning with the anti-slavery movement in the early nineteenth century and continuing to today...

This concise text presents a focused, well-rounded, and clear-eyed introduction to the concept of human security. Questioning the utility of traditional national-security frameworks in the post–Cold War era, Paul Battersby and Joseph M. Siracusa argue that we must urgently reconsider the principle of state sovereignty in a global world where threats to humanity are beyond the capacity of any one nation to address through unilateral action.The authors highlight circumstances, actors...

By offering critical perspectives of normative developments within international law, this volume of essays unites academics from various disciplines to address concerns regarding the interpretation and application of international law in context. The authors present common challenges within international criminal law, human rights, environmental law and trade law, and point to unintended risks and consequences, in particular for vulnerable interests such as women and the environment. Omis...

By revealing the contextual conditions which promote or hinder democratic development, Comparative Politics shows how democracy may not be the best institutional arrangement given a country's unique set of historical, economic, social, cultural and international circumstances.Addresses the contextual conditions which promote or hinder democratic developmentReveals that democracy may not be the best institutional arrangement given a country's unique set of h...

Can democratic states transplant the seeds of democracy into developing countries? What have political thinkers going back to the Greek city-states thought about their capacity to promote democracy? How can democracy be established in divided societies? This books answers these and other fundamental questions behind the concept known as 'democracy promotion.' Following an illuminating concise discussion of what political philosophers from Plato to Montesquieu thought about the issue, the a...