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"Little did we suspect," remarked Nelson Mandela, "that our own people, when they get that chance, would be as corrupt as the apartheid regime. That is one of the things that has really hurt us." Africa is the only continent that has grown poorer over the last three decades. The causes of Africa's existing predicaments are complete; however, there is no argument that deep-rooted corruption is one of the most serious contemporary developmental challenges facing the continent. Mr. Adama Dieng, who the Secretary General of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), the precursor of the African Union (AU), entrusted with the task of studying the legal, political, and economic implications of corruption in Africa, stated in his 2004 report that "corruption and impunity are antithetical to the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights and the enemy of the principle of good governance." Cognizant of this fact, the AU adopted the Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption (AU Corruption Convention). Foremost among its objectives is promoting development through renting, detecting, and punishing acts of corruption. By no means unique, the AU Corruption Convention is the latest in a series of international efforts to combat corruption through international law. Although the very adoption and entry into force of the AU Corruption Convention is a significant step, its real impact will depend on several crucial considerations, including clarity of the substantive obligations imposed, conformity of the newly adopted norms with existing legal and human rights obligations, proper municipal implementation of these norms, good governance, proper monitoring, and robust international enforcement. This article makes a timely effort to evaluate the recently adopted AU Corruption Convention in light of existing international legal norms relating to corruption, which will inevitably inform and shape its future progress. More particularly, this article endeavors to characterize the AU Corruption Convention's approach to ...

The problem of overpopulation has been the subject of much debate since Thomas Malthus's "Essay on the Principle of Population" (1798), & has taken on a new sense of urgency since the 1970s as the global implications of rapid population growth have become apparent. Attempts by the international community to establish a regime to deal with the problem have led to the convening of three conferences, Bucharest, Hungary (1974), Mexico City (1984), & Cairo, Egypt (1994). But despite propitious signs of early consensus, no international regime has been created. Examined here are reasons for both the initial consensus & the eventual dissensus in each case. It is concluded that several preconditions must be met if an international environmental regime is to be established in the future. 22 References. Adapted from the source document.

This volume analyzes international agreements from a political economy perspective. In four essays, it raises the question of whether domestic institutions help explain if countries join international agreements, and in case they do, what type of international organization they join. The book examines how specific democratic design elements channel and mediate domestic demands directed at politicians, and how under certain circumstances entering international agreements helps politicians navigate these demands to their benefit. The volume also distinguishes between different types of international instruments with a varying expected constraining effect upon member states, and empirically tests if this matters for incentives to join. The volume addresses scholars, students, and practitioners interested in a better understanding of how the shape of domestic institutions affects politicians' incentives to enter into binding international agreements.

The Humanitarian Demining Information Center (HDIC) at James Madison University is developing a plan for identifying, analyzing, enhancing, and disseminating electronic and hard copy information relating to humanitarian demining. The first step toward realizing this objective was identifying the information needs, information availability and optimal methods for organizing and delivering information to the humanitarian demining community. Broadly conceived, the humanitarian demining community consists of ten components. • U.S. government agencies that have as part of their mission the development of programs for humanitarian demining in selected countries • volunteer organizations that are directly involved in the task of humanitarian demining • for-profit organizations that are directly involved in the task of humanitarian demining • those who devise or provide technologies for this activity • volunteer organizations whose primary mission is that of providing short emergency aid or long term development assistance to victims of natural disasters and civil unrest that brings them into contact with the landmine threat • organizations whose interest in the field of humanitarian demining lies in the area of public advocacy • academic and research organizations whose involvement in humanitarian demining is largely tangential through their broader interest in world politics • relief organizations that have a sustained and direct exposure to humanitarian demining projects • UN or international organizations' agencies that are charged with demining as a subset of responding to complex human emergencies and promoting disaster prevention and preparedness • Local or host government agencies that provide an indigenous capability to undertake humanitarian demining operations Data from these organizations was obtained by a variety of means including: telephone surveys, analysis of printed material, analysis of organizational web sites, a conference on humanitarian demining held at James Madison University, and a survey of the existing literature on humanitarian demining. When significant differences exist in the nature of the response by these organizations to the questions asked in the telephone survey or in their printed material and web sites, these differences are noted in the analysis.

Preliminary Material /Cedric Ryngaert , Erik J. Molenaar and Sarah M.H. Nouwen -- Introduction: "What's Wrong with International Law?" /Cedric Ryngaert , Erik J. Molenaar and Sarah M.H. Nouwen -- Fred Soons: A Pragmatic Trust in International Law /André Nollkaemper -- An Appreciation of Fred Soons /John K. Gamble -- Some Reflections on What's Wrong with the Law of the Sea /Rosemary Rayfuse -- Responsibility for Human Rights Violations Arising from the Use of Privately Contracted Armed Security Personnel against Piracy. Re-Emphasizing the Primary Role and Obligations of Flag States /Jessica N.M. Schechinger -- A Sketch of the Concept of Ocean Governance and Its Relationship with the Law of the Sea /Yoshinobu Takei -- Is There Something Wrong with the Increasing Role of Private Actors? The Case of the Offshore Energy Sector /Seline Trevisanut -- Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims and Politics: Curse or Cure? /Vivian van der Kuil -- Bad Law and a Hard Case? The Impact of the Wall Advisory Opinion of the ICJ /Matthijs de Blois -- International Human Rights Implementation: Strengthen Existing Mechanisms, Establish a World Court for Human Rights, or Both? /Jenny E. Goldschmidt -- Prohibitions on Dissenting Opinions in International Arbitration /Patricia Jimenez Kwast -- Transnational Human Rights Litigation against Multinational Corporations Post-Kiobel /Menno T. Kamminga -- What is Wrong with International Standards on Social Protection? /Frans Pennings -- Corporate Social Responsibility: A New Framework for International Standard Setting? /Teun Jaspers -- Caught Napping by (Sea) Wolves: International Wildlife Law and Unforeseen Circumstances Involving the Killer Whale (Orcinus orca) and the Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) /Arie Trouwborst -- What is Wrong with International Environmental Law? /Johan G. Lammers -- A Critical Look at the Law of Treaties: Giving Recognition to Informal Means of Treaty Adaptation /Irina Buga -- Absolute Validity, Absolute Immunity: Is There Something Wrong with Article 103 of the UN Charter? /Guido den Dekker -- Aspects of the Law of Treaties /Kenneth. J. Keith -- Good Governance: A Principle of International Law /Henk Addink -- The Right to Peace: A Mischievous Declaration /Peter van Krieken -- Self-Determination and Regional Human Rights Bodies: The Case of Southern Cameroons and the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights /Brianne McGonigle Leyh -- What's Wrong with the Relationship between the International Court of Justice and the Security Council? /Otto Spijkers -- What's Wrong with International Law? /M.C.W. Pinto -- The Under-Appreciated Role of Curial Settlement in International Law Norm-Making: Using Transnational Law and Diffusion Studies to Re-Assess the Status of Prior Decisions /Pieter Bekker and Thomas Innes -- How and to Whom Do We Explain International Law? /John K. Gamble -- Fragmentation in International Law and Governance: Understanding the Sum of the Parts /Charlotte Ku -- Whither Territoriality? The European Union's Use of Territoriality to Set Norms with Universal Effects /Cedric Ryngaert -- Revealing the Publicness of International Law /Ramses A. Wessel -- What's Wrong with International Lawyers? /John Dugard -- Index /Cedric Ryngaert , Erik J. Molenaar and Sarah M.H. Nouwen.

Comparative Politics; African Politics; Development Theory; Development and Social Change; British Politics; International Organization

South Africa, the power house of the African continent, as well as Germany, Europe's largest economic power, are faced with an intricate maze of international obligations, whether related to the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the African Union or the European Union (EU), international human rights law, international humanitarian law, or any other sub-regime of international law. The two countries are in a different position when facing the implementation of this maze of obligations. South Africa is a developing economy that faces various capacity challenges which, at times, also impact the manner and extent to which it implements its international treaty obligations. Germany, ont the other hand, benefits from comparatively well-funded institutes of international law and a well-trained academic community, which have contributed to the successful implementation of much of international law. But as the relevant chapters in this volume show, the German case is not without its own complexities. As a result, an exchange of ideas and experiences pertaining to the implementation of international obligations can prove fruitful for both countries. Moreover, such an exchange could also serve as a useful point of departure for other countries in Southern Africa that face similar challenges in relation to implementation. The current book explores suitable techniques of implementation of international law, by comparing South Africa with Germany. After a general overview of the status of international law within Germany and South Africa respectively, it focuses on the implementation of international instruments pertaining to key sub-areas of international law in the two countries. These include the United Nations Charter (peace and security), the international law of the sea, international economic law, international environmental law, international human rights law, international criminal law, regional integration, and the status of international judicial decisions before domestic courts.

L'oeuvre de Bertrand Badie a ouvert plusieurs avenues de recherche en relations internationales, que ce soit au sujet des affaires diplomatiques, des stratégies de puissance ou encore des effets de la mondialisation. Toutefois, l'une des contributions de l'oeuvre de Badie reste relativement peu abordée dans la littérature sur les relations internationales, à savoir la discussion sur la sociologie de l'État et le statebuilding contemporain. Cet article aborde cette contribution à travers le prisme de la dialectique entre les approches webérienne et durkheimienne de l'État, un dialogue entre deux pères fondateurs de la sociologie qui est l'une des pierres d'assise de l'approche badienne en relations internationales. Suivant un cadre d'analyse d'inspiration badienne sur les questions d'édification de l'État, cet article propose de montrer comment cette dernière peut être axée, soit sur des questions de cohésion sociale d'inspiration durkheimienne (« approche de la légitimité sociale »), soit sur des questions (néo-)webériennes de capacités de l'État (« approche institutionnelle »). Cet article relève également les limites de l'approche néo-webérienne tout en notant la complexité de la mise en pratique d'une approche d'inspiration durkheimienne.