Promotions - Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles 2017 -

The 17th-century Westphalian model of governance sought to impress the self-importance of a Western European Christian notion of self-controlled folk, hence the concept of sovereignty. Though this notion was dominant, several centuries later, new, expanded manners of orders appeared. Pavel (Kings College, London) brings to the discussion an important contribution to international relations theory. Following the Western philosophical idea of a social contract, in return for loyalty, the state was to provide protection. However, history provides examples of the denial and violation of human rights over time and globally. A question then arises: what are the conditions of responsibility of one state's intervening in another to protect people subjected to degradation in that state? The author makes a sound argument for marrying institutions' decision making with a global moral responsibility to protect human rights. The argument is that state sovereignty is not necessarily diminished if it adheres to the demands of an international judicial authority, such as the International Criminal Court. This book clearly is a groundbreaking contribution to international relations theory and political philosophy and a necessary read for those involved in related disciplines.Summing Up: Essential. Upper-division undergraduates through professionals.

Post 9/11, the US government abandoned its long standing policy of not using torture. There are many works that chronicle the why and when of this policy shift. Arsenault (Georgetown) fills a void in the literature by analyzing and explaining how the embedded norms against the use of torture changed after al Qaeda's attacks on the United States. Arsenault successfully argues that the use of enhanced interrogation methods was not the work of "a few bad apples." The respect for international law and US norms of conduct unraveled when policy makers vowed that another 9/11 would not happen on US soil. Following the lead of the policy makers, lawyers in the executive branch justified the use of torture to gain actionable information from captured, suspected terrorists. It was not the interrogators in the field who altered the norms. They acted on the instructions of the policy makers and lawyers. The author contends that in the end the enhanced interrogation policy proved to be more costly than beneficial to US interests. This is a well-written, superbly researched work that should find its way onto the bookshelves of every person interested in how the US government journeyed into the abyss of torture during the global war on terrorism.Summing Up: Essential. General readers; upper-division undergraduates through faculty.

Discussions of accountability for crimes committed during World War II have been limited almost exclusively to the Nuremberg and Tokyo war crimes trials. This revelatory book, drawing on many newly released documents, discusses the little-known United Nations War Crimes Commission (UNWCC) to which 17 countries brought cases against over 36,000 individuals and groups between 1944 and 1948. It is a story of early condemnation of those abuses committed by the Axis powers, strong conviction and collaboration to hold perpetrators accountable, unlikely leaders (e.g., China, India), and a fair and sophisticated legal process. The book demonstrates that the Allies came out against the Holocaust and other crimes much earlier than is recognized. Most significantly, the UNWCC's work has been largely ignored by the legal community. Many of the supposed innovations in international human rights law in the past two or three decades were already established in the 1940s. These include debates over obedience to superior orders, command responsibility, torture, and rape as a war crime. Those interested in the development of international human rights and justice will find this work essential reading.Summing Up: Essential. Upper-division undergraduates through professionals.

The book explores the national security strategy of eight nations that will shape global politics in the 21st century. Brazil, China, Germany, India, Israel, Russia, Turkey, and the US were selected based on the impact of their policies, which already influence geopolitical zones throughout the world. Each chapter is written by an expert who is not only well versed in that country but also a resident. Editors Hitchcock, Leffler, and Legro structure the volume with an emphasis on broadening the term national strategy, which extends well beyond the military aspect of war. National strategy in this vein considers all aspects of national power, such as diplomacy, economic potential, domestic political considerations, and national leadership. Each chapter focuses on the challenges of crafting a national strategy by first providing a brief historical background that helps readers understand how identity and domestic and regional considerations guide national strategy. This book is a must read for graduate students and international relations scholars interested in understanding the challenges behind formulating proactive and reactive national security strategies for these nations, as well as the implications when national strategy proves too difficult, considering internal political divisions, ideological views shaped by history, and weak institutions.Summing Up: Essential. Graduate students through professionals.