Around 1.4 billion people presently live in extreme poverty, and yet despite this vast scale, the issue of global poverty had a relatively low international profile until the end of the 20th century. In this important new work, Hulme charts the rise of global poverty as a priority global issue, and its subsequent marginalisation as old themes edged it aside (trade policy and peace-making in regions of geo-political importance) and new issues were added (terrorism, global climate change and access to natural resources).

Key updates for the new edition:

• evaluation of...

This fully-updated and much expanded second edition provides a much needed, short and accessible introduction to the current debates in international humanitarian law. Written by a former UN Chief Prosecutor and a leading international law expert, this book analyses the legal and political underpinnings of international judicial institutions, it provides the reader with an understanding of both the historical development of institutions directed towards international justice, as well as an overview of the differences and similarities between such organizations.

New to this edition:...

Two of the dominant themes of discussion in international relations scholarship over the last decade have been global governance and rising powers. Underlying both discussions are profound ethical questions about how the world should be ordered, who is responsible for addressing global problems, how change can be managed, and how global governance can be made to work for peoples in developing as well as developed states. Yet, these are often not addressed or only briefly mentioned as ethical dilemmas by commentators.

This book seeks to ask critical and profound questions about what...

Peacebuilding is a critical issue in world politics. Surprisingly, however, there has not been a full examination of concrete policies and implementation strategies to generate legitimacy in "host states" by either international relations (IR) theorists or practitioners.

The objective of this book is to develop an understanding of the mechanisms for constructing-or eroding-the legitimacy of newly created governments in post-conflict peacebuilding environments. The book argues that although existing accounts in the literature contend that compliance with key political programs, and...

Written by a former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (2003-4), this book has been fully updated for a second edition and continues to provide a much needed, short and accessible introduction to the foundational human rights ideas of our times and shows that every government is under international obligation to respect and uphold universal human rights.

Updates include:

• Discussion of the recent intellectual challenges to the international human rights movement
• Examination of the establishment and functioning of the Human...

The global economic crisis has certainly tested the international economic organizations, particularly the IMF and the WTO. The London G20 Summit committed the members to strengthen IMF surveillance as a means to better discipline economic policies. At the same time, the Fund's own Independent Evaluation Office has engaged in a very public recounting of how its surveillance procedures failed to anticipate the onset of the crisis.

The world is paying increasing attention to issues of transparency and accountability, questioning whether these organizations are in part...

Despite the large number of regional and global summits there is very little known about the functioning and impact of this particular type of diplomatic practice. While recognizing that the growing importance of summits is a universal phenomenon, this volume takes advantage of the richness of the Americas experiment to offer a theoretically grounded comparative analysis of contemporary summitry.

The book addresses questions such as:

• How effective have summits been ?
• How have civil society and other non-state actors been involved in summits?
...

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is one of the most important international organizations in existence today. It contains a set of disciplines that affect the ability of governments to impose trade restrictions, and has helped to support the steady expansion of international trade since the 1950s. The WTO has been the focus of vociferous protests by anti-globalization activists and has experienced great difficulties in agreeing to new trade rules since its establishment. At the same time it has become the premier global forum for the settlement of trade disputes and has proven to provide...

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is one of the most important international organizations in existence today. It contains a set of disciplines that affect the ability of governments to impose trade restrictions, and has helped to support the steady expansion of international trade since the 1950s. The WTO has been the focus of vociferous protests by anti-globalization activists and has experienced great difficulties in agreeing to new trade rules since its establishment. At the same time it has become the premier global forum for the settlement of trade disputes and has proven to provide...

A growing body of evidence demonstrates that improvements in the status of women and girls - however worthy and important in their own right - also drive the prosperity, stability, and security of families, communities, and nations. Yet despite many indicators of progress, women and girls everywhere - including countries of the developed world - continue to confront barriers to their full and equal participation in social, economic, and political life.

Capturing voices and experiences from around the world, this work documents the modern history of the global women's movement - its...