Combining both theoretical and practical insights, the Research Handbook on Secession addresses a wide range of legal issues surrounding secessions. It considers both well-known examples such as Kosovo and Bangladesh alongside less frequently discussed cases including Somaliland and Palestine, offering state-of-the-art analysis of international law on statehood, secession, self-determination and related topics. Featuring contributions from a range of international scholars and experts, the Research Handbook discusses what a state is, distinguishes between declarations of independence and secessions, and examines the differences between secessions and the dissolution of states. Chapters provide both international law and comparative constitutional perspectives on issues of secession, inviting the reader to think afresh about the role of international law in territory and statehood. The Research Handbook also argues for the possibility that combining insights from international and constitutional law in particular could move the debate forward. This incisive Research Handbook will be crucial reading for scholars and students of constitutional and international law, as well as political science academics, with an interest in statehood and secession-related topics. It will further prove useful for international legal practitioners advising on these issues.

While the plight of persons displaced within the borders of states has emerged as a global concern, not much attention has been given to this specific category of persons in international legal scholarship. Unlike refugees, internally displaced persons remain within the states in which they are displaced. Current statistics indicate that there are more people displaced within state borders than persons displaced outside states. Romola Adeola examines the protection of the internally displaced person under international law, considering existing legal regimes at various levels of governance and institutional mechanisms for internally displaced persons. Scholars in the field of forced migration and law, policy-makers and international agencies will recognize the significance of the author's thorough examination of The Internally Displaced Person in International Law.

There has been renewed and growing interest in exploring the significant role played by law in the centralization of power and sovereignty - right from the earliest point. This timely book serves as an introduction into state theory, providing an overview of the conceptual history and the interdisciplinary tradition of the continental European general theory of the state. Chapters present a theory of the state grounded in cultural analysis and show liberal democracy to be the paradigm of today's western nation-state. The analysis includes the emergence of legal forms and institutions that are linked either to the constitutional state (the securing of civil liberties and fundamental rights), the welfare state (social and welfare law), or the network-state (regulation of complex digital technologies). Thomas Vesting focuses on illustrating the fundamental features of these evolutionary stages - the three layers constituting the modern state - and reveals their cultural and social preconditions. This book will be an ideal read for students, postgraduates, and other academic audiences with interests in state theory, jurisprudence, legal theory, political theory, and legal philosophy.

As a conflict ends and the parties begin working towards a durable peace, practitioners and peacebuilders are faced with the possibilities and challenges of building new or reformed political, security, judicial, social, and economic structures. This Handbook analyzes these elements of post-conflict state building through the lens of international law, which provides a framework through which the authors contextualize and examine the many facets of state building in relation to the legal norms, processes, and procedures that guide such efforts across the globe. The volume aims to provide not only an introduction to and explanation of prominent topics in state building, but also a perceptive analysis that augments ongoing conversations among researchers, lawyers, and advocates engaged in the field. The Research Handbook on Post-Conflict State Building provides keen insights for faculty, graduate and undergraduate students in programs related to peace and conflict, governance, and international justice and law. Practitioners such as United Nations staff, government officials, international institution and think tanks engaged in post-conflict state building will glean important lessons and guidance from the Handbook's chapters. Contributors include: T. Beckelman, S.-T. Bounfour, M.J. Day, M. de Hoon, Y.M. Dutton, R. Friedrich, C.M. Goebel, S.L. Hodgkinson, D.E.W. Johnson, R. Kraemer, C.D. Kreutzner, J.C. Levy, A.C. Mann, B. McGonigle Leyh, N. Narayan, S. Pearlman, F.J. Pecci, R.M. Perito, D.J. Planty, B. Popken, M. Sterio, J. Trahan, G. Visoka, P.R. Williams, J.P. Worboys

Secession in International Law argues that the effective development of criteria on secession is a necessity in today?'s world, because secessionist struggles can be analyzed through the legal lens only if we have specific legal rules to apply. Without legal rules, secessionist struggles are dominated by politics and sui generis approaches, which validate secessionist attempts based on geo-politics and regional states?' self-interest, as opposed to the law. By using a truly comparative approach, Milena Sterio has developed a normative international law framework on secession, which focuses on several factors to assess the legitimacy of a separatist quest. By comparing and contrasting various situations and cases of self-determination leading toward secession in different parts of the world, including the recent cases of Scotland, Crimea, and Catalonia, this book serves as an illuminating illustration of past and attempted secessions. Sterio approaches her novel framework with the goal of reconciling the international law norm of territorial integrity with the right to external self-determination, proposing specific and useable guidelines. This unique book will appeal not only to academic audiences, but to state actors, politicians, government members and policy makers as well.

The Antarctic and Southern Ocean are hotspots for contemporary endeavours to oversee 'the last frontier' of the Earth. The Handbook on the Politics of Antarctica offers a wide-ranging and comprehensive overview of the governance, geopolitics, international law, cultural studies and history of the region. Written by leading experts, the Handbook brings together the very best interdisciplinary social science and humanities scholarship on the Antarctic and Southern Ocean, offering a definitive statement on why the world's only uninhabited continent attracts global attention in terms of science, politics and natural resources - and what can be done to manage it. Four sections take readers from the earliest human encounters to contemporary resource exploitation and climate change through thematic and critical analyses: the exploration, exploitation and mapping of Antarctica; its emergence as an object of global interest; human behaviour and environmental change in response to managerial interventions; and a contemplation of possible futures for Antarctica. All topics are covered in accessible yet authoritative contributions. Specialist readers in polar regions, public international law, geography, geopolitics and international relations will appreciate this uniquely comprehensive and up-to-date examination of politics in and around Antarctica, as will scholars with interest in areas beyond national jurisdiction, peace/co-operation studies and the interface between public policy and science. Contributors include: A.E. Abdenur, D.G. Ainley, A. Antonello, D. Avango, P.J. Beck, M. Benwell, L.E. Bloom, A.-M. Brady, C. Braun, N. Brazell, C. Brooks, I. Cardone, S.L. Chown, C. Collis, R. Davis, K. Dodds, A. Elzinga, F. Francioni, M. Haward, A.D. Hemmings, F. Hertel, A. Howkins, J. Jabour, S. Kaye, R.D. Launius, E. Leane, D. Liggett, H. Nielsen, E. Nyman, O. Olsson, H. OEsterblom, H.-U. Peter, P. Roberts, R. Roura, J.F. Salazar, D. Sampaio, S.V. Scott, T. Stephens, E. Stewart, L.-M. van der Watt, N. Vanstappen, P. Vigni, R. Wolfrum, J. Wouters, O. Young

This timely research review discusses key articles dealing with the importance of territory for international law in its relationship with power, state building and globalization. The collection also analyses the evolution and scope of the law of acquisition of territory from colonial times until today, the emergence of new areas for the territorial expansion of states and border delimitation rules. Finally, the review investigates the impact of the human dimension in the way international law addresses territorial issues, particularly the individual and collective human rights, including indigenous peoples and the right to self-determination.

Post-2002 events at the U.S. naval facility at Guantanamo Bay have generated a spate of books on its use as a detention center in the U.S. fight against terrorism. Yet the crucial enabling factor-the lease that gave the U.S. control over the territory in Cuba-has till now escaped any but cursory consideration. T"he Leasing of Guantanamo Bay" explains just how Guantanamo Bay came to be a leased territory where the U.S. has no sovereignty and Cuba has no jurisdiction. This is the first definitive account of the details and workings of the unusual and problematic state-to-state leasing arrangement that is the essential but murky foundation for all the ongoing controversies about Guantanamo Bay's role in U.S. anti-terrorism efforts, charges of U.S. human rights violations, and U.S.-Cuban relations.

"The Leasing of Guantanamo Bay" provides an overview of territorial leasing between states and shows how it challenges, compromises, and complicates established notions of sovereignty and jurisdiction. Strauss unfolds the history of the Guantanamo Bay, recounting how the U.S. has deviated widely from the original terms of the lease yet never been legally challenged by Cuba, owing to the strong state-weak state dynamics. The lease is a hodge-podge of three U.S.-Cuba agreements full of discrepancies and uncorrected errors. Cuba's failure to cash the annual rent checks of the U.S. has legal implications not only for the future of Guantanamo Bay but of the Westphalian system of states. Compiled for the first time in one place are the verbatim texts of all the key documents relevant to the Guantanamo Bay lease-including treaties and other agreements, a previously unpublished U.N. legal assessment, and once-classified government correspondence.

As international political and economic relations have become increasingly complex, so have the pressures on international boundaries and the borderlands which surround them. Although there are still many examples of "traditional" boundary problems associated with disputes between states concerning control over territory and maritime space, the papers in this volume demonstrate the vulnerability of borderlands to other forces, most notably illegal immigration and cross-border crime. This study aims to investigate the causes and implications of borderland stress. The first section explores changing concepts of sovereignty and their impact on the meaning and functions of international boundaries. The contributions in the second and third sections offer a combination of regional appraisals and individual case studies highlighting the range of problems affecting borderlands around the world, together with an assessment of some of the initiatives launched in response to those problems. While many of the conclusions drawn are rather sobering, it is clear that in some parts of the world new and imaginative approaches to territorial organization and management are helping to create safer, more dynamic and more prosperous borderlands. The papers in this volume represent the proceedings of the fifth International Conference of the International Boundaries Research Unit, held at the University of Durham on 15-17 July 1998.

Water covers some 75% of the earth's surface, while land covers 25%, approximately. Yet the former accounts for less than 1% of world GDP, the latter 99% plus. Part of the reason for this imbalance is that there are more people located on land than water. But a more important explanation is that while land is privately owned, water is unowned (with the exception of a few small lakes and ponds), or governmentally owned (rivers, large lakes). This gives rise to the tragedy of the commons: when something is unowned, people have less of an incentive to care for it, preserve it, and protect it, than when they own it. As a result we have oil spills, depletion of fish stocks, threatened extinction of some species (e.g. whales), shark attacks, polluted and dried-up rivers, misallocated water, unsafe boating, piracy, and other indices of economic disarray which, if they had occurred on the land, would have been more easily identified as the result of the tragedy of the commons and/or government ownership and mismanagement. The purpose of this book is to make the case for privatization of all bodies of water, without exception. In the tragic example of the Soviet Union, the 97% of the land owned by the state accounted for 75% of the crops. On the 3% of the land privately owned, 25% of the crops were grown. The obvious mandate requires that we privatize the land, and prosper. The present volume applies this lesson, in detail, to bodies of water.

Water covers some 75% of the earth's surface, while land covers 25%, approximately. Yet the former accounts for less than 1% of world GDP, the latter 99% plus. Part of the reason for this imbalance is that there are more people located on land than water. But a more important explanation is that while land is privately owned, water is unowned (with the exception of a few small lakes and ponds), or governmentally owned (rivers, large lakes). This gives rise to the tragedy of the commons: when something is unowned, people have less of an incentive to care for it, preserve it, and protect it, than when they own it. As a result we have oil spills, depletion of fish stocks, threatened extinction of some species (e.g. whales), shark attacks, polluted and dried-up rivers, misallocated water, unsafe boating, piracy, and other indices of economic disarray which, if they had occurred on the land, would have been more easily identified as the result of the tragedy of the commons and/or government ownership and mismanagement. The purpose of this book is to make the case for privatization of all bodies of water, without exception. In the tragic example of the Soviet Union, the 97% of the land owned by the state accounted for 75% of the crops. On the 3% of the land privately owned, 25% of the crops were grown. The obvious mandate requires that we privatize the land, and prosper. The present volume applies this lesson, in detail, to bodies of water.

Nothing serves to remind us of the instability of the "globalized" order as much as the continuing power of territorial boundaries to spawn political and humanitarian crises. Although it might seem that in this important respect the modern world has made little progress, the work of Gerald Blake continues to prove that peaceful resolution of problems associated with international boundaries can be attained. This festschrift reflects the topics and regional preoccupations of one of the leading researchers in the field. Professor Blake returned to certain topics throughout his long career, especially the Middle East, maritime boundaries, and the relation between borders and demographics. Several of the authors extend his work in such areas as Arctic jurisdiction, environmental issues of transboundary water management, and geographic information systems (GIS). For the growing number of professionals in conflict management, international humanitarian law, the law of the sea, environmental law, and energy law, and for workers in such diverse fields as natural resource management and forced migrations - as well as for specialists in the Middle East, Africa, and South East Asia - these revealing essays should offer a wealth of valuable information and insight.

The book considers the changes which national sovereignty has undergone through the supranational European integration. In various contributions by renowned academics and high judges demonstrate the serious impacts of supranationality on the EU member states and even on third countries which are connected with the EU by international treaties. It becomes clear that primacy of EU law, the most significant expression of supra-nationality, collides with national sovereignty as anchored in the national constitutions. The studies clearly show that most member states do not fully deny EU law primacy but are aware of the need to find an adequate balance between the supranational and the national orders. The result from the analyses of the authors from various European countries is that the upcoming constitutional paradigm is "constitutional identity", a concept established by jurisprudence in Germany, France, Czech Republic (without being named so) and debated also in Poland which, herself, denies supranational impact on the national Constitution entirely. Studies on selected EU member states clarify the specific national approaches towards the limitations of their sovereignty as developed by the constitutional jurisprudence (Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Italy, Germany with comparative references to United Kingdom and France). It is illuminated that traditionally strong sovereignty concepts (UK, France) are considerably relativized and functionally opened towards the integration challenges. Basic issues are furthermore reflected, such as the supranational impact on the State's power to reform its Constitution, the relation of national and constitutional identity and the national and supranational perspectives of identity. The book also includes Europe beyond the EU by research on the supranational character of association treaties (from a Ukrainian perspective) and on the Europeanization of a third country preparing EU membership (Albania).

The legality of preemptive strikes is one of the most controversial questions of contemporary international law. At the core of this controversy stands the temporal dimension of self-defence: when and for how long can a state defend itself against an armed attack? Can it resort to armed force before such an attack occurs? Is anticipatory action covered by the rules of self-defence or should it be treated as a different concept? This book examines whether anticipatory action in self-defence is part of customary international law and, if so, under what conditions. The pre-Charter concept of anticipatory action is demarcated and then assessed against post-Charter state practice. Several instances of self-defence - both anticipatory and remedial - are examined to elucidate the rules governing the temporal dimension of the right. The Six-Day War (1967), the Israeli bombing of an Iraqi reactor (1981), the US invasion of Iraq (2003) and other instances of state practice are given thorough attention.

Conquest, annexation, secession by force these belong to a statecraft which great powers after World War II seemed to have set aside for good. Russia in 2014 however brought them back. Aggression against Ukraine examines the stakes in Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk and other troubled borderlands and for international law and public order as a whole.

Differentiation was at first not perceived as a threat to the European project, but rather as a tool to promote further integration. Today, more EU policies than ever are marked by concentric circles of integration and a lack of uniform application. As the EU faces increasingly existential challenges, this timely book considers whether the proliferation of mechanisms of flexibility has contributed to this newly fragile state or whether, to the contrary, differentiation has been fundamental to integration despite the heterogeneity of national interests and priorities. Written by emerging and established experts in the field, the chapters examine the present and future of differentiation in EU law. Part I covers general institutional aspects, with contributors examining the nature and characteristics of the various institutional and extra-institutional forms of differentiation. Part II takes a policy-oriented perspective, focussing on areas of EU law and policy in which differentiated integration is prevalent or particularly intriguing. This includes Economic and Monetary Union, the internal market, justice and home affairs, and foreign policy. Differentiated integration is now a defining feature of the EU polity, with the potential to impact almost every facet of EU regulation. This book will be essential reading for students and academics in EU law or anyone interested in the future of EU integration. Contributors include: V. Borger, M. Dawson, M. de Visser, B. De Witte, W. Devroe, A. Durana, N. El-Enany, C. Fasone, E. Ferran, E. Herlin-Karnell, C. Herrmann, S. Kingston, P. Koutrakos, A. Ott, S. Peers, D. Thym, P. Van Cleynenbreugel, S. Van den Bogaert, A.P. van der Mei, E. Vos, M. Weimer

This book takes an interdisciplinary approach to the question of what role international law plays in promoting a resolution of Central and East European transboundary environmental disputes. The author examines a wide variety of environmental disputes in Central and Eastern Europe, with particular emphasis on the Gabcikovo-Nagymaros Project dispute between Slovakia and Hungary, and melds international legal theory and international relations theory to develop an analytic framework for understanding the role of law and assessing its future application.

While espionage among nations is a long-standing practice, the emergence of the Internet has challenged the traditional legal framework and has resulted in the intensification of intelligence activities. With the emergence of cyber-espionage, agents may collect intelligence from within their own jurisdictions, with a great deal of secrecy and less risk. This book argues that - save some exceptions - this activity has been subject to normative avoidance, meaning that it is neither prohibited, nor authorized or permitted. States are aware of such status of law, and are not interested in any further regulation, leaving them free to pursue cyber-espionage themselves at the same time as they adopt measures to prevent and falling victim to it. This book resorts to a first-class sample of state practice and analyses several rules and treaties, and demonstrates that no specific customary law has emerged in the field. -- .

This book investigates a phenomenon in world politics that is largely overlooked by scholars, namely entities lacking international recognition of their status as independent states. It includes case studies on the Eurasian Quartet, Kosovo, Somaliland, Palestine, Northern Cyprus, Western Sahara and Taiwan.

This book analyzes and discusses the sovereignty of the Nansha Islands, combining legal and historical perspectives, traditional international law theories, and empirical studies based on an extensive body of historical maps from around the globe to do so. Ultimately, the book argues that China has sovereignty over the Nansha Islands and the surrounding waters, either on the basis of historical claims or modern realities. In recent years, the Nansha disputes have attracted considerable attention. Far from being resolved, they have instead become even more heated. The only reasonable way to solve the problem, as argued here, is on the basis of relevant history and legislation. Addressing this highly topical issue, the book also provides an English-speaking audience with access to essential content on the sovereignty, history, and legislation concerning the Nansha Islands.

The Antarctic Treaty (1959) was adopted for the purpose of bringing peace and stability to Antarctica and to facilitate cooperation in scientific research conducted on and around the continent. It has now been over fifty years since the signing of the treaty, nevertheless security continues to drive and shape the laws and policy regime which governs the region. Antarctic Security in the Twenty-First Century: Legal and Policy Perspectives assess Antarctic security from multiple legal and policy perspectives. This book reviews the existing security construct in Antarctica, critically assesses its status in the early part of the Twenty-First century and considers how Antarctic security may be viewed in both the immediate and distant future. The book assesses emerging new security threats, including the impact of climate change and the issues arising from increased human traffic to Antarctica by scientists, tourists, and mariners. The authors call into question whether the existing Antarctic security construct framed around the Antarctic Treaty remains viable, or whether new Antarctic paradigms are necessary for the future governance of the region. The contributions to this volume engage with a security discourse which has expanded beyond the traditional military domain to include notions of security from the perspective of economics, the environment and bio-security. This book provides a contemporary and innovative approach to Antarctic issues which will be of interest to scholars of international law, international relations, security studies and political science as well as policy makers, lawyers and government officials with an interest in the region.

Are you fed up with the divided and unequal society or suffocating laws and regulations of the country where you live? Ever dreamed of starting your own country or just want to understand how that happens? In this refreshing new book, Matt Qvortrup provides a step-by-step guide to forming an independent country, from organising a referendum and winning it, to receiving official international recognition, establishing a currency and even entering the Eurovision song contest. The book delves into the legal, economic and political problems of creating new states, using historical examples and anecdotes from all over the world to illustrate the obstacles to these campaigns. Qvortrup recounts his globetrotting experiences as an expert consultant on referendums to give a no-nonsense explanation of the many hurdles and barriers, as well as the opportunities for those who want to break free. -- .

The Antarctic Treaty (1959) was adopted for the purpose of bringing peace and stability to Antarctica and to facilitate cooperation in scientific research conducted on and around the continent. It has now been over fifty years since the signing of the treaty, nevertheless security continues to drive and shape the laws and policy regime which governs the region. Antarctic Security in the Twenty-First Century: Legal and Policy Perspectives assess Antarctic security from multiple legal and policy perspectives. This book reviews the existing security construct in Antarctica, critically assesses its status in the early part of the Twenty-First century and considers how Antarctic security may be viewed in both the immediate and distant future. The book assesses emerging new security threats, including the impact of climate change and the issues arising from increased human traffic to Antarctica by scientists, tourists, and mariners. The authors call into question whether the existing Antarctic security construct framed around the Antarctic Treaty remains viable, or whether new Antarctic paradigms are necessary for the future governance of the region. The contributions to this volume engage with a security discourse which has expanded beyond the traditional military domain to include notions of security from the perspective of economics, the environment and bio-security. This book provides a contemporary and innovative approach to Antarctic issues which will be of interest to scholars of international law, international relations, security studies and political science as well as policy makers, lawyers and government officials with an interest in the region.

Sovereignty and jurisdiction are legal doctrines of a complex nature, which have been subject to differing interpretations by scholars in legal literature. The tridimensionality of state territory recognised under customary international law subsists until the present but there are other territories that do not or cannot belong to any state or political entity which also must be accounted for in legal theory. The issues surrounding sovereignty and jurisdiction are likely to become ever more pressing as globalisation, growing pressure on resources and the need for energy and national security become acute, and the resolution of special delimitation disputes seems likely to become a vital question in the twenty-first century. As a result of the fast pace of technological developments in air and space activities and the massive increases in air transportation , satellite communications and space exploration, the need for scholars and practitioners to sharpen their appreciation of the legal and political issues becomes crucial. This book will focus primarily on the issues of sovereignty jurisdiction and control in airspace and outer space and their effects on public and private activities, but it will also look at related issues pertaining to the Seas and Antarctica. Commercial exploitation, resource control and the international regime regulating contractual obligations in relation to transportation of goods and services over all forms of territory will be examined to the extent that they are necessary to explain jurisdictional rights and duties over territory. Older problems of international law such as crimes in the air and airspace trespass are treated along with newer developments such as space tourism as well as growing demand for private ownership and involvement in outer space exploitation. The book goes on to consider the distinction between airspace and outer space and puts forward legal criteria which would allow for the resolution of the spatial delimitation dispute. These criteria would determine where in spatial terms the exclusive sovereignty of airspace ends and where outer space - the province of all mankind - begins, and contribute to the jurisprudence of territorial sovereignty and jurisdiction.

From the Madrid Invitation in 1991 to the introduction of the Oslo process in 1993 to the present, a negotiated settlement has remained the dominant leitmotiv of peacemaking between Israel and the Palestinian people. That the parties have chosen negotiations means that either side's failure to comply with its obligation to negotiate can result in an internationally wrongful act and, in response, countermeasures and other responses. This monograph seeks to advance our understanding of the international law of negotiation and use this as a framework for assessing the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, with the Palestinian people's unsuccessful attempt to join the United Nations as a Member State in autumn 2011 and the successful attempt to join the same institution as a non-Member Observer State in November 2012 providing a case study for this. The legal consequences of these applications are not merely of historical interest; they inform the present rights and obligations of Israel and the Palestinian people. This work fills a significant gap in the existing international law scholarship on the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, which neither engages with this means of dispute settlement generally nor does so specifically within the context of the Palestinian people's engagements with international institutions. 'Based on primary research, this book explores materials that were not analyzed before. It treats a highly political issue with scientific objectivity that strikes a balance between various points of view. The book will be an essential reading to all those involved in peace studies, international negotiations and Israeli-Palestinian conflict'. Mutaz M Qafisheh, Associate Professor of International Law, Hebron University. 'A compelling and innovative account of the legal aspects of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict: a must read.' Efraim Karsh, King's College London and Bar-Ilan University, author of Palestine Betrayed. 'A superbly imagined and executed study on Palestine that puts the 'negotiation imperative' at the heart of its narrative, fully interrogating the involvement of public international law at each step of the long and layered history that is vigorously brought to life in these pages. A study that also promises texture, nuance, and depth to the legal analysis it offers-and it delivers handsomely on each of these fronts.' -Dino Kritsiotis, Chair of Public International Law & Head of the International Humanitarian Law Unit, University of Nottingham.