Suchergebnisse

Being a part of the social world, international law is not closed nor isolated system -- on the contrary, it is in an intimate interaction with international relations & politics. Richard Falk, Professor of International Law, taught for example at the Princeton University & presently at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is interested in the connections between IL & IR & is a prolific writer on this topic. Two of his last books, The costs of War -- International Law, the UN & World Order After Iraq (2008) & Achieving Human Rights (2009) are reviewed in this essay in highly critical manner. In the essay, Falk's normative inquiry into the legal & political developments is contrasted with the latest discussions in both the International Law & International Relations. In the review essay, Falk is criticized for his unconvincing criticism of the US foreign policy, for his intellectual shortcuts & excessive idealism. However, very interesting & significant parts of both books are emphasized & Falk's books are considered to be worth reading. His insight into the international legal problems & into the developments of human rights is outstanding. Adapted from the source document.

The article deals with the phenomenon of the naval blockade in peacetime. Instituting a naval blockade is an extensively used policy in international politics, both in history and in the contemporary world. The peacetime naval blockade is firstly defined and theoretically classified. This is followed by an analysis of several peacetime naval blockades, which serves to illustrate the limits of the effectiveness of such blockades. The analysis comes to the conclusion that there are many limitations on the effectiveness of the peacetime naval blockade, the most significant being that this kind of blockade has no formal rules and no background in international law. It also comes to the conclusion that an effective naval blockade in peacetime must be based on a complex approach and be part of a package of diplomatic measures. Also, it appears that such blockades themselves can have some deeper psychological effects, not only economic, political or military ones. Adapted from the source document.

This article presents a review of the currently debated options for regulations of activities of private military companies (PMCs). This topic is a matter of pondering in the foreign literature. It primarily reflects on the massive use of PMCs in Iraq and Afghanistan, which, however, merely illustrates the broader shortcomings resulting from the prolonged absence of clearly defined and enforceable mechanisms for the monitoring and control of the accountability, transparency and effectiveness of PMCs' activities. The goal of this article is therefore not only to present the practical, legal, economic, and political pros and cons of the possible regulation frameworks, but also to illustrate why it is still so difficult to reach a consensus on a regulation framework that would be acceptable to all the relevant actors. Adapted from the source document.

This article presents a comparison of three approaches to international justice. The first part of the article focuses on the realist paradigm, the second section analyzes various liberal approaches, and the third part presents the basic ideas of neomarxism. The largest part of the article is devoted to a critical discussion of existing liberal approaches -- liberal institutionalism (R. Keohane), political liberalism (J. Rawls), democratic liberalism (J. Habermas), globalist utilitarianism (P. Singer), globalist egalitarianism (Ch. Beitz, T. Pogge), and liberal impartialism (B. Barry). The article concludes by synthesizing the insights of the three broad normative positions into a realist, yet at the same time critical, liberalism. Adapted from the source document.

The application of Elias's Theory of civilization, in the field of international relations, is the theoretical concept of civilian power. In this analysis, I concluded that there are several attributes that allow the use of military force by civilian power. These attributes consist of: (1) using military force as a last resort for dealing with conflicts, and only when all other means have failed; (2) playing an active role in seeking non-militant ways of crisis resolution and military conflict prevention; (3) conducting only military operations that conform to international law and (4) that intend to support and defend human rights while (5) minimizing destruction and casualties, not only on its own side but also on the side of its enemy and finally, (6) having military operations (with the exception of self defense) take place in a multinational framework, which would not be used as a tool for unilateral policies. Adapted from the source document.