Description
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC What is a Fair International Society?: International Law Between Development and Recognition by Emmanuelle Tourme Jouannet
Todays post-colonial post-Cold War world is riddled by the same forms of injustice which afflict national societies. The onset of decolonisation in the 1950s brought with it emerging economic and social disparities between states. These inequalities are still glaring and pose the problem of the gap between formal and true equality. International society is also confronted with culture- and identity-related claims stretching the dividing line between equality and difference. The less-favoured states those which feel stigmatised native peoples ethnic groups minorities and women now aspire to both legal recognition of their equal dignity and the protection of their identities and cultures. Some even seek reparation for injustices arising from the past violation of their identities and the confiscation of their property or land. In answer to these two forms of claim the subjects of international society have come up with two remedies encapsulated in legal rules: the law of development and the law of recognition. These two sets of rights are neither autonomous branches of law nor formalised sets of rules; they are imperfect yet they can also be seen as stepping stones towards a fairer international society. This book explores the evolution of these legal forms historically examining their presuppositions and implications.