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2111. The Spectre of Sources

Author:
Rose Parfitt
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
The editors of this impressive and timely volume, Anne Peters and Bardo Fassbender, begin their Introduction (at 2) with the following statement of purpose: [W]e, the editors and authors, [have] tried to depart from ... the 'well-worn paths' of how the history of international law has been written so far — that is, as a history of rules developed in the European state system since the 16th century which then spread to other continents and eventually the entire globe.
Topic:
International Law
Political Geography:
Europe

2112. Is there a Role for Islamic International Law in the History of International Law?

Author:
Nahed Samour
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
Overcoming Eurocentrism is one of the self-proclaimed aims of the editors of The Oxford Handbook of the History of International Law. In the following, I shall offer a critique of the Handbook from a largely Islamic international law perspective as (but) one example of a supranational non-European legal system. The depth of the volume covering a variety of times, spaces, and themes provides us with a much awaited tool against the 'gaps' and the 'forgetfulness' of how today's doctrines and practices of international law came about, not shying away from the voices that question the narrative of international law serving peace and justice. The Handbook is therefore laudable for a number of things.
Topic:
International Law and Islam
Political Geography:
Europe

2113. Statelessness: An Invisible Theme in the History of International Law

Author:
Will Hanley
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
The Oxford Handbook is a welcome and necessary intervention in the history of international law. In the introduction, the editors signal their reformist programme: out with the progressive, triumphalist narrative; in with the dark side of international law and its side tracks outside the European experience. In addition to this programme, the project displays two further signs of its serious intent to change the field. First, the authors embarked on a truly collective project, including a week of face-to-face consultation, in a rare effort to define a reasonably unified agenda. Scholarly redirection is a social as well as an intellectual undertaking, and the community built around this volume marks its purposefulness. Secondly, the book's scope is massive: more than five dozen chapters, more than three dozen authors, and more than 1,000 pages of text provide the bulk necessary to accomplish the paradigm shift that the editors intend. The extensive range of the book, especially in its 'Regions' section, does what is necessary to transform globalizing intent into actuality. It is a foundational volume, and any scholarly edifice building upon it will have a broader footprint than was previously possible.
Topic:
International Law
Political Geography:
Europe

2114. Overcoming Eurocentrism? Global History and the Oxford Handbook of the History of International Law

Author:
Anne-Charlotte Martineau
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
Last Spring, the Rechtskulturen programme, an initiative of the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin at the Transregionale Studien Forum, invited me to participate in a symposium on the Oxford Handbook of the History of International Law – a robust book of 1250 pages. I was asked to 'critically assess' the Handbook's 'global history' approach, that is, to assess whether it was a successful step in 'overcoming Eurocentrism' in the history of international law. The symposium turned out to be a wonderful event, a gathering of historians, anthropologists, political scientists, and lawyers, where I became very conscious of my own professional language but where I also experienced a willingnesss to transcend disciplinary boundaries and biases. The following remarks should be interpreted as a continuation of that discussion. Before looking at some of the contributions in the Handbook that did depart from 'well-worn paths' (to use the editors' expression) (3), I would like to say few words about the 'global history' approach (1) and the unfortunate resilience of Eurocentric voices in the Handbook (2).
Topic:
International Law
Political Geography:
Europe

2115. Prospects and Limits of a Global History of International Law: A Brief Rejoinder

Author:
Anne Peters and Bardo Fassbender
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
As we remarked in the Introduction to our Handbook, it is exciting but also risky to leave a well-worn path (at 2). It means meeting unforeseen obstacles. We were quite aware of the fact that if we wanted to shed light on historical developments in international law which so far had remained in darkness or obscurity, we had to be prepared to encounter the unexpected and not so readily understood – that is, accounts and narratives which call into question conventional wisdom and which, at least initially, pose additional problems rather than providing easy answers. We knew that new research on issues which had rarely been examined before would not be perfect or 'complete'. In other words, we expected, and in fact expressly invited, criticism of a work which tried to break new ground.
Topic:
International Law
Political Geography:
Europe

2116. Michael B. Gerrard and Gregory E. Wannier (eds). Threatened Island Nations. Legal Implications of Rising Seas and a Changing Climate

Author:
Susannah Wilcox
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
There is growing evidence that climate change-related impacts like rising sea levels, higher storm surges, and changing rainfall patterns are exacerbating existing vulnerabilities like poverty, isolation, and resource scarcity, and may eventually leave small island states uninhabitable, causing the displacement of entire populations. Among those particularly at risk are low-lying coral atoll states like Kiribati, Tuvalu, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean, and the Republic of the Maldives in the Indian Ocean.
Topic:
Poverty
Political Geography:
Europe, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Tuvalu, and Maldives

2117. Prospects for Fundamental Monetary Reform

Author:
Gerald P. O'Driscoll, Jr.
Publication Date:
07-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
The intellectual climate has never been more open to a critical analysis of existing monetary institutions both here and abroad. When the Germans agreed to a monetary union, they were promised that they would keep the Bundesbank; only the name would be changed to the European Central Bank. Instead, Germans with whom I have spoken now think they got the Banca d'Italia. In the United States, before the financial crisis, the Federal Reserve was held in high regard by the public. Now, at least in some circles, "the Fed" has become a term of opprobrium, not unlike "the IRS."
Political Geography:
United States, Europe, and Germany

2118. The Federal Reserve and the Dollar

Author:
Lewis E. Lehrman
Publication Date:
07-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
To evaluate the history of the Federal Reserve System, we cannot help but wonder, whither the Fed? and to consider wherefore its reform—even what and how to do it. But first let us remember whence we came one century ago.
Topic:
War
Political Geography:
Europe

2119. Swiss Neutrality Examined: Model, Exception or Both?

Author:
John Dreyer and Neal G. Jesse
Publication Date:
06-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:
Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:
This paper examines the experience of Switzerland within the greater discourse of neutrality in international relations. When many scholars or policy makers discuss neutrality, they often draw upon the experience of the Swiss. Switzerland has, since the early 19thcentury, constructed an identity as a neutral state. Unlike nearly every other neutral European in modern political history, Switzerland has been successful. In this paper we show the Swiss as an outlier in the dialogue on neutrality. Switzerland has been far more successful at neutrality than any other state for reasons of culture, history and international recognition. Neutrality as a policy has been largely a failure for most states. The Swiss, however, possess three major attributes that allow them to succeed and prosper in their role as neutral. First is the incorporation of an armed deterrent into the national culture. Second is the provision of neutrality as a collective good. Finally is the solidification of Swiss neutrality into international law, custom and convention over nearly 200 years.
Political Geography:
Europe and Switzerland

2120. Defense at the Forward Edge of the Battle or rather in the Depth? Different approaches to implement NATO's operation plans by the alliance partners, 1955-1988

Author:
Helmut R. Hammerich
Publication Date:
06-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:
Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:
Military historians love studying battles. For this purpose, they evaluate operation plans and analyze how these plans were executed on the battlefield. The battle history of the Cold War focuses first and foremost on the planning for the nuclear clash between NATO and the Warsaw Pact. Although between 1945 and 1989-90 the world saw countless hot wars on the periphery of the Cold War, the "Cold World War," as the German historian Jost Dülffer termed it, is best examined through the operational plans of the military alliances for what would have been World War Three. To conduct such an analysis we must consider Total War under nuclear conditions.
Political Geography:
Europe and Germany