Since World War II, remarkable progress has been made toward establishing more effective international laws and organizations to reduce opportunities for confrontation and conflict, and to enhance the pursuit of security and well-being. This book offers a detailed record of that progress, as well as its meaning for our times and those ahead. Taking a historical, theoretical, and case-study approach, John Gibson provides the reader with a broad understanding of how international organizations evolved to serve the interests of their member states, how the constitutional charters of organizations provide a coherent statement of goals and means to goals, and how these organizations are assuming increasing authority in the international system.

The work traces the progression of international constitutional and human rights law, with an emphasis on the past 45 years. In the first part, Gibson discusses the historic processes of political relations and mutual reliance; the evolution of these patterns through World War II; the subsequent history of the United Nations; the prime goals of international constitutional law; and the organizations' range of authority--from the high state to the supra-organization level. Part two offers a case study of the progression of international human rights law. Separate chapters trace the history of human rights in religion and philosophy and the role of the state in international law, while the concluding chapter on the United Nations Commission on Human Rights demonstrates how organizations actually function. This book will be a valuable resource for courses in international relations and international law, as well as an important addition to academic and professional libraries.

John Gibson, an expert on human rights, discusses the issues and context of rights including the universality of rights, the hierarchy of rights, and conflicts between rights, a discussion that creates the framework for further research. The dictionary entries on the sixty-six rights in international treaties and declarations are divided into five categories: civil and political rights; legal rights; economic, social, and cultural rights; collective rights; and declaratory rights. Each entry contains the treaty definition, other sources and treaties, an expanded definition, historical landmarks in the development of the right, and cross references. Includes an extensive bibliography. An essential, one-of-a-kind reference source for graduate and undergraduate students and professors of law, political science, international relations, and history.

This biography tells of Lochiel's life and casts new light on the motives and politics of the last Jacobite Rising. Using new material - including the Memoire d'un Ecossais, an account written by Lochiel himself and recently discovered in the archives of the French Foreign Ministry - the work recalls how Gentle Donald Cameron of Lochiel was one of Bonnie Prince Charlie's most devoted Highland followers. Lochiel was at the heart of the Jacobite plot to restore him to the throne in 1745. He also played a major part in the Stuart prince's escape to France, but, unable to come to terms with the tragedy which had fallen on his people, Lochiel died shortly afterwards in 1748.