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CIAO DATE: 01/03
Volume XXXVII No.1 (January–March 2002)
IAI Library Notes
By Maritza Cricorian
The authority of the Security Council under chapter VII of the UN Charter : legal limits and the role of the International Court of Justice, by David Schweigman. – The Hague : Kluwer Law International , c2001. – xviii, 354 p. – (Studies and material on the settlement of international disputes ; 8). – ISBN 90–411–11641–9
Based on a PhD thesis, this book is part of a series aimed at analysing the subject of "dispute settlement and prevention", with special reference to cases involving non–institutional actors and the intent to put forward proposals and, ultimately, to strengthen the rule of law in international relations. In particular, it deals with the problem of the recent activism of the United Nations, more specifically, the new functions taken on by the Security Council (SC). The main question is the legitimacy of SC actions and, therefore, the definition and delimitation of its powers under Chapter VII of the UN Charter and the role of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in setting these limits. The essay is broken down into six chapters: the first explains the methodological approach used to interpret the Charter and SC resolutions; the second reviews Charter provisions, in particular, those of Chapter VII, concerning the Security Council; the third provides a detailed analysis of the practical application of the powers the Charter assigns to the SC, their recent evolution and the problems posed; the fourth seeks to define the legal limits that could be set on SC action; the fifth examines the consequences of possible illegal actions by the SC and the remedies available to "affected" states, including the role of the ICJ; the sixth puts forward some proposals for improving the legitimacy of the Security Council. The conclusions recapitulate the contents of the book.
The Bush administration (1989–1993) and the development of a European security identity, by Sophie Vanhoonacker. – Aldershot : Ashgate, c2001. – xiv, 269 p. – ISBN 0–7546–1664–9
This essay examines the way in which transatlantic relations have changed since the end of the Cold War, especially the attitude of the Bush administration to the incipient European security identity. The approach is one of structural realism, that is, it examines the process from the outside, highlighting external forces, structural factors and the international system that inform US national policies/strategies towards western Europe. After a brief initial chapter setting the historical framework, and introducing the actors of the Bush administration and the main questions behind the research, the second chapter presents the theoretical background. The third goes over historical precedents and studies their applicability to the post–1989 period. Chapters four and five describe two case studies. the first deals with the American response to the Intergovernmental Conference of 1991 and the second its response to the European effort to manage the Yugoslav crisis autonomously. Attempts are made in the sixth and seventh chapters to draw lessons from these empirical cases as to US security policy towards Europe in the post–Cold War era and verifies the usefulness of the realistic approach. Sources range from academic and press articles and official documents to interviews, for the empirical part, with officials from national administrations (above all the US) and European institutions. The interviews are used anonymously but a list of the names of interviewees is given in the bibliography at the end of the volume.
The Europeanisation of national foreign policy : Dutch, Danish and Irish foreign policy in the European Union, by Ben Tonra.– Aldershot : Ashgate, c2001. – viii, 305 p. – ISBN 0–7546–1261–9
Defined as "minor states" because of their limited ability to influence events and actors, Denmark, the Netherlands and Ireland feel the impact of the common foreign and security policy (CFSP) on their national foreign policies. This is a study of the interaction between European cooperation in foreign and security policy and the national foreign policies of these three countries. After a brief theoretical introduction, the second chapter attempts to work out a conceptual framework, a model for analysing and evaluating both Europe’s common foreign and security policy and Dutch, Danish and Irish foreign policies. The subsequent chapters go over each of these separately, from the end of World War II to the beginning of political cooperation in the European Community. The sixth chapter draws some conclusions about the foreign policy of the three member states in the 1945–70/73 period, emphasising similarities and differences. This is followed by a study of the particular contribution of each to CFSP in its more than 25 years of development, from 1969 to 2000. Chapters eight to ten investigate the principles and interests underlying the positions of the three countries with respect to the Middle East (1970–95), South Africa (1976–95), and the former Yugoslavia (1990–96), respectively. Chapter eleven, perhaps the most original, presents the opinions and analyses of experts and officials from the three countries interviewed on CFSP capacity, on the role of minor states and the inter–relation between CFSP and national policies. Finally, the conclusions define the nature of those (reciprocal) relations.
Germany as a civilian power? The foreign policy of the Berlin Republic, edited by Sebastian Harnisch and Hanns W. Maull. – Manchester : Manchester University Press, c2001. – xii, 179 p. – (Issues in German politics. – ISBN 0–7190–6042–7 (pbk)
Bringing together part of the results of a research study on "civilian power" in international relations carried out by the University of Trier and part of the proceedings of a conference held in December 1998, at which these results were presented and critically assessed by experts in foreign policy in general and German foreign policy in particular, this book represents the state of the art in the analysis of both the concept of civilian power and post–unification German foreign policy. The approach is constructivist. In fact, the claim that there has been substantial continuity in German foreign policy after 1989 is explained using the decisive role played by civilian power as an analytical tool in the institutional context of European and Atlantic integration and the security policy sphere. Analysis is based on case studies: for the first aspect, Germany’s position with regard to the eastward enlargement of NATO and the European negotiations in Maastricht and Amsterdam (chaps 1–2) are examined; for the second, a look is taken at Germany’s learning process with respect to out–of–area operations and nuclear non–proliferation policy (chaps 3–4). Also considered are human rights politics and Germany’s participation in the NATO intervention in Kosovo (chaps 5–6). After identifying the strengths and weaknesses of civilian power as an analytical tool, in the conclusions, the editors pose three conceptual and theoretical problems for future research: conflicting role concepts, domestic interest formation and context–sensitivity.
Hague yearbook of international law / Association of Attenders and Alumni of the Hague Academy of International Law = Annuaire de La Haye de droit international / Association des auditeurs et anciens auditeurs de l’Academie de droit international de La Haye. – The Hague : M. Nijhoff Publishers, c2001. – xxii, 315 p. – ISBN 90–411–1666–4
The thirteenth of a series known as the AAA Yearbook, this volume is made up of the contributions that formed the basis for a workshop on "new scholarship in international public and private law", organised by the same association in the Hague in 22–23 July 2000. The rationale was to rethink the fundamentals of international law in this globalised and globalising society, according to the new theoretical trends, be they political, social or juridical. The subjects touched upon include: the history ofinternational public law, private and comparative international law, sexuality in private and comparative law, doctrinal aspects in international law, international economic law. One of the book’s qualities is that it describes the activities and provisions of important institutions of international law such as the International Court of Justice, the International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law committed in the territory of the Former Yugoslavia, the Iran–United States Claims Tribunal, the Permanent Court of Arbitration, and the Hague Conference on Private International Law.
The international politics of East Africa, by Robert Pinkney. – Manchester : Manchester University Press, c2001. – xii, 242 p. – ISBN 0–7190–5616–0 (pbk)
South Africa’s multilateral diplomacy and global change : the limits of reformism, edited by Philip Nel, Ian Taylor, Janis Van der Westhuizen. – Aldershot : Ashgate, c2001. – xii, 155 p. – (The international political economy of new regionalisms series). – ISBN 0–7546–1653–3
Two books that deal with two totally opposite regional situations and experiences on the vast African continent. The first of the two is centred on the external relations after the end of the Cold War of East Africa (basically Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda) with the West, taken to mean the wealthy countries that apply – or claim to apply – democracy and a market economy. The first part of the book (four chapters) deals with the international context in which East Africa has to play its part; in particular, the complementarity and conflictuality between the interests of the region and those of the developed world and the impact of globalisation, the available economic options and external pressures, and the Western institutions with which East Africa interacts. The second part analyses the impact of international politics on East African states and society: following an introduction, three chapters focus on each of the three states taken into consideration. The third part studies East Africa’s relations with its immediate neighbours, and the fourth and final draws conclusions. Primary sources include academic literature, official documents (European Commission, the World Bank, East African Co–operation), British and African newspapers, but above all, 101 interviews conducted locally with experts, officials, politicians and businessmen. Contrary to the foregoing, the second book, the result of a research project, is a success story: South African multilateralism under Presidents Mandela and Mbeki, against the background of global change. The authors analyse the way in which both used their leadership abilities in the various multilateral fora, wielding the diplomatic tool as well as their own personal prestige to champion the idea of equality in the process of global governance in favour of the smaller and/or weaker states. Finally, they try to assess the prospects for success of this reformist trend in South African foreign policy. The appendix provides a useful list of the various memberships (45) and treaties (68) signed by South Africa between 1994 and 2000.
The law of arms control : international supervision and enforcement, by Guido Den Dekker. – The Hague : Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, c2001. – xviii, 404 p. – (Developments in international law ; 41). – ISBN90–411–1624–9
The product of a four–year research study completed in December 2000, this book is meant to contribute to the understanding and analysis of international law in the international process of post–Cold War arms control. Using a positivist approach, it deals with law as it is and not as it should be, even though it also includes mentions and references to a possible lege ferenda. The essay is broken down into eight chapters, grouped into three sections. Following an introductory chapter offering a brief historical excursus of the evolution of arms control before the establishment of the United Nations, the first section of the study tries to identify and define the law of arms control in the sphere ofinternational politics and law and to describe its legal characteristics (chaps 2–3); the second section is devoted to analysis of the mechanisms of supervision, for which a theory based on study of the main documents is developed (chap. 4); that theory is applied in the subsequent chapters (5 and 6) to the treaties that have given rise to cooperative structures of supervision, in particular, the NPT, CWC and CTBT; the third section deals with the procedures for enforcement and especially the inter–relation and the power–sharing between supervising bodies and the single states parties (chap. 7). Conclusions wind up the book.
The reform process of the United Nations peace operations : debriefing and lessons : report of the 2001 Singapore Conference, The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR, The Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) of Singapore and the Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA) ; prepared under the direction of Nassrine Azimi and Chang Lil Lin eds. – The Hague : Kluwer Law International, c2001. – ISBN 90–411–1699–0
The proceedings of the fifth of a series of UNITAR–IPS–JIIA conferences on peacekeeping. The conference, organised jointly by the three institutes in Singapore on 3 April 2001, centred on reform of UN peacekeeping operations. Participants with various backgrounds and experience – UN officials, NGO representatives, experts – were called upon to assess the implementation of the so–called Brahimi Report, written by the special "Panel on Peace Operations" nominated by Kofi Annan in March 2000 to study the possibilities of improving UN peacekeeping and peace–building missions. Drawing on the recent experiences in East Timor, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Sierra Leone, the participants’ conclusions and recommendations are presented at the end of the book by the co–chairs of the conference. The presentations are divided into six parts, in addition to the introductory remarks, and deal with such subjects as: an overview/review of the Brahimi Report, a view from the field (the UN missions mentioned above), from the capitals, from the General Assembly and the Security Council, and the points of view of regional organisations (such as the OSCE), humanitarian organisations (the International Committee of the Red Cross), and some UN agencies (such as the UN Development Programme and the Dept. of Peacekeeping Operations). The conviction of all is that, despite the shortcomings, the UN must not give up its peacekeeping responsibilities.
Reforming the United Nations: the Quiet Revolution, edited by Joachim Müller. – The Hague : Kluwer, c2001. – xxii, 946 p. – ISBN 90–411–1644–3
The ideal continuation of three preceding books by the same author (Reforming the United Nations: new initiatives and past efforts, Kluwer Law International, 1997), this is a useful consultation tool on the initiatives for UN reform in that it offers primary sources relative to the years 1996–2000. After an historical introduction dedicated to the 1950–96 period (the focus of the preceding volumes), this book goes over more recent initiatives (the Annan era), taking into consideration the many different interests and approaches: from demands for greater efficiency, operational efficacy and representativeness, for the strengthening of the UN’s role in development and governance, and for expansion of its responsibility to involve it in the internal affairs of member states, to proposals to limit its mandate, and to introduce restrictions on the Security Council’s power of veto. The documents – proposals and preparatory studies, General Assembly and Security Council resolutions, Secretary General documents and expert studies/reports – are divided into three sections, ordered chronologically and integrated, where necessary, with information and notes.
Regulatory reforms in Italy : a case study of Europeanisation, Dieter Kerwer. – Aldershot : Ashgate, c2001. – viii, 224 p. – ISBN 0–7546–1690–8
This original essay, drawn from a PhD thesis, analyses a decade of Italian transport policies in an attempt to determine the European community’s influence on them and to identify the dynamics of Europeanisation on national policies. Thus it is a case study, even though a comparative method is applied to the two areas taken into consideration: trucking and railways. The chapters are six: in the introduction, the author lays out the different methodologies for analysing mechanisms of Europeanisation, and opts in the end for an institutionalist approach which puts the accent on the internal structures of a country, rather than external pressures; the second chapter describes the European Common Transport Policy (CTP); this is followed by two chapters describing how Italian policy, in the decade from 1985, contrasted with the CTP and how more recent changes have improved relations between Italy and Europe, in particular, through the setting up of the Antitrust Agency; the fifth chapter illustrates the workings of the regulatory policy cycle (legal and economic mechanisms of Europeanisation) at the Italian level; and finally, the sixth provides evidence that Europe has had an effect on Italy, but only within the bounds of its national path. Thus the case study demonstrates that the process of Europeanisation largely depends not on a single mechanism but on a whole range of contingent factors.
Religious minorities, nation states and security : five cases from the Balkans and the Eastern Mediterranean, Mario Apostolov. – Aldershot : Ashgate, c2001. – x, 196 p. – ISBN 0–7546–1677–0
This book deals with the difficult relations between religious minorities, defined in relation to a majority that speaks the same language but professes another religion, and the state, above all in certain geopolitical areas. The areas taken into consideration are the eastern Mediterranean and the Balkans and, within them, the communities considered are the Copts, the Palestinian Christians and the Pomaks. The author investigates the reasons for the persistence of certain conflicts today, the causes of their insurgence, and why this happens in certain areas. Divided into three parts, the first defines some key concepts; the second follows the research through the five case studies and the third deals with the theoretical aspects of conflict analysis and possible solutions. The method used is historiographic and is carried out through parallel and comparative examination of various specificities. Thus the author concludes that the main cause of these conflicts is socio–political and arises from the inability to organise the national and regional political environment more effectively to channel the various confessional identities and aspirations into adequate political structures and institutions.
Terrorism and democratic stability, Jennifer S. Holmes. – Manchester : Manchester University Press, c2001. – xiv, 241 p. – (Perspectives on democratization). – ISBN 0–7190–5959–3
Also the product of a PhD thesis, this book is part of a series dedicated to processes of democratisation and democratic theory. In this case, the author starts out from the assumption that one cannot speak of violence emanating from a terrorist groups without speaking of the counter–violence emanating from the state, with reference to its democratic stability. The originality of the study lies in its theoretics/methodology which is presented in the second chapter: the analytical framework is provided by Aristotelian concepts, albeit reinterpreted in a contemporary vein, of the state and the political community. These two parameters provide the approach for a comparative analysis of the consequences of violence – of terrorists and of the state – on democratic stability, in three case studies: Uruguay, Peru and Spain. Spain is actually only an exploratory case, used to illustrate a state response to terrorism that is alternative to violence. After an historical introduction (chap. 3) to the challenges faced by the three democracies (terrorism, economic crisis), the author examines in two separate chapters (4 and 5) the consequences of terrorism and of state repression on democratic stability, and the changes that they bring about in the citizens’ trust in the state (chap. 6). She concludes that a state’s reactions to a terrorist attack are just as important with regard to maintaining democratic stability as the attack itself (chap. 7). The epilogue (chap. 8) presents developments updated to May 2000 in the three countries considered.
To prevail : an American strategy for the campaign against terrorism, Kurt M. Campbell and Michèle A. Flournoy. – Washington, D.C. : The CSIS Press, c2001. – XIV, 399 p. – ISBN 0–89206–407–2
This book gathers together the analyses and recommendations of a task force of experts and scholars set up by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) after the tragic events of 11 September for a global strategy to deal with the new challenges posed by international terrorism. In particular, the authors bring to light and analyse all the doubts and problematic aspects posed by the United States’ new domestic agenda: the need to create consensus within the country and on the international scene, not to ignore the priorities already on the agenda, to respond to the new intelligence and military requirements and at the same time, not to violate individual freedoms, to create or innovate the necessary institutions, to conserve economic vitality. The first and second chapter are respectively an introduction and a reconstruction of the American lifestyle prior to 11 September which allowed it to take place; the third draws attention to the need for a response to the terrorist threat and its inevitable impact on the daily life of citizens. But the heart of the essay lies in chapters 5 to 12 which attempt to discern the long–term objectives of a global anti–terrorist campaign and the strategy for achieving it, including interaction with the globalisation process (chaps. 10–12). Chapters 13 and 14 present specific regional strategies (central, southern and eastern Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Russia, etc.) The final chapter summarises the results and makes recommendations, point by point. The book contains two useful appendices: a selection of important speeches by American and foreign leaders after 11 September and a list of the main international terrorist organisations; and a series of photographs of the first half of the twentieth century taken from the Hulton I Archive/Getty Images.
United Nations sanctions and international law, edited by Vera Gowlland–Debbas. – The Hague : Kluwer Law International, c2001. – xiv, 408 p. – (The Graduate Institute of International Studies ; 1). – ISBN 90–411–1603–6
The proceedings of a colloquium by the same name organised by the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, and the first part of a research project on sanctions coordinated by the same editor, the book focuses on the legal aspects of Security Council (SC) application of non–military sanctions under Chapter VII of the Charter, with reference to the debate on reassessing sanctions and the functioning of the SC. The volume is divided into four parts: a first dedicated to theoretical questions (place of sanctions in the international legal system; limits to the powers of the Security Council and the question of accountability; alternatives to collective economic sanctions); a second dealing with relations between sanctions and humanitarian issues (sanctions and human rights law; sanction humanitarian issues and mandates; sanctions and humanitarian law); a third analysing the application of SC resolutions (sanctions and private rights; so–cial problems for implementing states); and a fourth and last part outlining the future of this instrument in the international system. There is deliberately no concluding chapter as no attempt is made to summarise the diversity of the opinions expressed. A useful addition is a CD–Rom containing the main reference documents, in general resolutions of the Security Council and the UN General Assembly.
United States economic sanctions: theory and practice, by Michael P. Malloy. – The Hague : Kluwer Law International, c2001. – xxvi, 738 p. – ISBN 90–4118–861–4
An in–depth study providing an almost "inside" view of US theory and practice in economic sanctions, as the author worked for the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. The term "sanctions" is taken in its purely technical and non–descriptive sense. The book is organised into two parts. The first deals with important conceptual issues: after an initial chapter dedicated to a historical reconstruction of economic sanctions in the US from World War II to today, it analyses the main statutory authorities (chap. 3), starting with the Trading with the Enemy Act, pointing to the legal limits at local and international level and the reciprocal divergences between them. The last chapter in this part attempts to work out a methodology for assessment of the effectiveness of sanctions (chap. 4). The second part is a survey of current US sanction programmes, analysing application mechanisms in detail (chaps. 5–9): East Asian Embargo Controls, Cuban Embargo Controls, Libyan Sanctions, Iraqi Sanctions and other Limited Sanctions Programs [sic]. Most information is updated to 30 July 2000.