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...

In the 1990s inter-ethnic conflicts threaten the stability of many states. As a result the issue of minority rights has become an urgent concern for international lawyers. Minority and Group Rights in the New Millennium examines the way in which existing international law and human rights instruments protect the rights of minorities. In addition the essays in this volume address current debates on the fundamental issue of defining a minority, the complex arguments for expanding existing definitions and the legitimacy of claims by specific groups to qualify for minority status.

This book provides a rich examination of Russia's particular attitude to political liberalism, the rule of law, and rights. In words often cited in contemporary Russia, the former Bolshevik and religious philosopher Nikolai Berdyaev wrote, in 1911, that 'Russia is the Third Rome'. This book examines the legacy of this messianic self-narrative, stressing its importance for any adequate understanding of contemporary Russian attitudes to the rule of law.