The degradation of the international legal order : The rehabilitation of law and the possibility of politics / Bill Bowring

Providing the basis for critical engagement with the pessimism of the contemporary age, The Degradation of the International Legal Order? argues passionately for a rehabilitation of the honour of historic events and processes, and of their role in generating legal concepts. Drawing primarily from the Marxian tradition, but also engaging with a range of contemporary work in critical theory and critical legal and human rights scholarship, this book analyses historical and recent international events and processes in order to challenge their orthodox interpretation. What is thus proposed is a new evaluation of international legal principles and human rights norms, the revolutionary content of which, it is argued, turns them from mere rhetoric into powerful weapons of struggle.

Accessibly written, but theoretically sophisticated, this original and timely book is intended for critical teachers and students of international law, human rights, and international relations, as well as legal and political activists.

It includes Table of cases, References and Bibliographic index pages etc..

Introduction
Self-Determination - the Revolutionary Kernel of International Law
The Degradation of International Law?
The Legality of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq After Iraq: International Human Rights Law in Crisis Ideology in International Law, and the Critique of Habermas
A Substantive Account of Human Rights Human Rights as the Negation of Politics?
‘Postmodern’ Reconstructions of Human Rights
The Challenge of Methodological Individualism
The Scandal of Social and Economic Rights
The Problem of ‘Legal Transplantation’ and Human Rights
Conclusion