Examines the difficulties in applying international law to recent armed conflicts known as 'new wars'.

Seven essays grapple with some of the paradoxes of national sovereignty in today's world, examining such dimensions as pan-Islamism, new approaches to international human rights, ethnic conflict, lessons from Yugoslavia, and Japan and the tropical forests of southeast Asia. Paper edition (unseen), $17.95. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Interest in international law has increased greatly over the past decade, largely because of its central place in discussions such as the Iraq War and Guantanamo, the World Trade Organisation, the anti-capitalist movement, the Kyoto Convention on climate change, and the apparent failure of the international system to deal with the situations in Palestine and Darfur, and the plights of refugees and illegal immigrants around the world. This Very Short Introduction explains what international law is, what its role in international society is, and how it operates. Vaughan Lowe examines what international law can and cannot do and what it is and what it isn't doing to make the world a better place. Focussing on the problems the world faces, Lowe uses terrorism, environmental change, poverty, and international violence to demonstrate the theories and practice of international law, and how the principles can be used for international co-operation.

Underpinned by the work of major thinkers such as Marx, Locke, Weber, Hobbes and Foucault, the first half of the book looks at political concepts including: the state and sovereignty; the nation; democracy; representation and legitimacy; freedom; equiality and rights; obligation; and citizenship. There is also a specific chapter which addresses the role of ideology in the shaping of politics and society. The second half of the book addresses traditional theoretical subjects such as socialism, Marxism and nationalism, before moving on to more contemporary movements such as environmentalism, ecologism and feminism.