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Many states partially relinquish sovereignty in return for physical protection from a more powerful state. Mainstream theory on international hierarchies holds that such decisions are based on rational assessments of the relative qualities of the political order being offered. Such assessments, however, are bound to be contingent, and as such a reflection of the power to shape understandings of reality. Through a study of the remarkably persistent US-led security hierarchy in East Asia, this article puts forward the concept of the 'epistemic community' as a general explanation of how such understandings are shaped and, hence, why states accept subordinate positions in international hierarchies. The article conceptualises a transnational and multidisciplinary network of experts on international security – 'The Asia-Pacific Epistemic Community' – and demonstrates how it operates to convince East Asian policymakers that the current US-led social order is the best choice for maintaining regional 'stability'.

Abstract
The Guiding Principles on Shared Responsibility in International Law seek to address an issue hitherto unresolved in the law of international responsibility: if two or more states or organizations together cause a single harm to a victim, what are the consequences for suit and reparation? Commentators generally counsel against the use of domestic concepts such as 'solidary liability' or 'joint and several liability' in international law. This comment highlights the role of domestic analogies in the formulation of the Guiding Principles, focusing on two elements: the application of liability in solidum as the key consequence of multiple responsibility (Principle 10), and 'concerted action' (Principle 7) as a condition for multiple responsibility. Both of these concepts can be found in many domestic legal systems, but the Principles place differential weight on domestic analogies in the elaboration of Principles 10 and 7: Principle 10 draws useful analogies with the rationale behind liability in solidum in domestic law, while Principle 7 on concerted action does not rely on related domestic concepts. That is likely for good reason. However, responsibility based on concerted action is a novel basis for responsibility in international law, and therefore its justification is all the more important. The justification provided for Principle 7 is not fully convincing, and its scope of application is uncertain. I query whether the exploration of cognate concepts in domestic legal systems may have helped to justify the rationale for, or the scope of, responsibility based on concerted action.

"This book aims to improve understanding of the broad trends in the utilisation of political violence by examining the use of state terror in world politics. The ending of the Cold War and the overthrow of communism in Eastern Europe led many to assume that this presaged the demise of the one-party terror regime and acceptance of Western concepts of democracy, freedom and human rights throughout the international system. But of course this did not end state terror. The totalitarian one-party state still exists in North Korea and China, and there are numerous military regimes and other forms of dictatorship where the use of terror techniques for internal control is routine. The late Professor Paul Wilkinson conceived and began this project with the intention of analysing the major types of international response to state terror, as well as their outcomes and their wider implications for the future of international relations. In keeping with this original premise, the contributors explore the history of terrorism, as well as reflecting on the need for international cooperation based on the protection of civilians and a consistent approach to intervention in conflict situations. This book will be of much interest to students of terrorism studies, political violence, human rights, genocide, and IR in general."--Publisher's website.

The issue of optimizing the mechanism of prosecution of the subjects of the crime in connection with Russia's war against Ukraine launched in February 2022, as a result of which impunity of war criminals is gaining momentum and leads to violation of legislation, both in Ukraine and in the world, in particular in such countries as: Poland, Germany, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, etc. In this regard, the purpose of this editorial is twofold: on the one hand, it seeks to present volume 41, number 76 of "Cuestiones Políticas" and, on the other hand, is to highlight the issue of the subject of the crime, its signs and main features, enshrined in international legal acts. It was concluded that the analysis of international treaties gives grounds to affirm that the subject of the subject of the crime is quite widely disclosed and attention is paid to the separation of the concepts of subjects of international crimes and subjects of crimes of international character; the difference between these concepts is fundamental and very important. Taking into account the attitude of the international community to the concept of the subject of crime, possible areas for improvement of the current legislation are outlined.

The discovery of the two inherited susceptibility genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 in the mid-1990s created the possibility of predictive genetic testing and led to the establishment of specific medical programmes for those at high risk of developing breast cancer in the UK, US and Europe. The book provides a coherent structure for examining the diversity of practices and discourses that surround developments linked to BRCA genetics, and to the evolving field of genetics more broadly. It will be of interest to students and scholars of anthropology, sociology, history of science, STS, public health and bioethics. Chapter 8 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 3.0 license. https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/tandfbis/rt-files/docs/Open+Access+Chapters/9780415824064_oachapter8.pdf