Empire's Law

The American Imperial Project and the 'War to Remake the World'

Edited by Amy Bartholomew

Publication date:

20 March 2006

Length of book:

384 pages

Publisher

Pluto Press

ISBN-13: 9781849642705

Can democracy and human rights really be imposed 'by fire and sword'?

This is a collection of essays debating empire and international law, concerning the relationship between American imperialism, the abuse of 'humanitarian intervention' and its legal implications.

Covering everything from the role of Europe and the UN, to people's tribunals, to broader accounts of the contradictions of war and human rights, the contributors offer new and innovative ways of examining the problems that we face.

Contributors include Leo Panitch, Sam Gindin, Jurgen Habermas, Ulrich Preuss, Andrew Arato, Samir Amin, Reg Whitaker, Denis Halliday and Hans von Sponeck.

Dedication
Acknoweldegements
Amy Bartholomew: Introduction
Part I. The American Imperial Project and the 'War to Remake the World'
1. Leo Panitch and Sam Gindin: Theorising American Empire
2. Jurgen Habermas: Interpreting the Fall of a Monument
3. Ulrich Preuss: The Iraq War – Critical Reflections from 'Old Europe'
Part II. Empire's Law: War, Human Rights, and International Law
4. Hans von Sponeck: The Conduct of the UN Before and After the 2003 Invasion
5. Denis Halliday: The UN and its Conduct During the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq
6. Doris E. Buss: Keeping its Promise: Use of Force and the New Man of International Law
7. Trevor Purvis: Looking for Life Signs in an International Rule of Law
8. Peter Swan: American Empire or Empires? Alternative Juridifications of the New World Order
9. Amy Bartholomew: Empire's Law and the Contradictory Politics of Human Rights
Part III. Occupation, Democracy and Contradictions of Empire in Iraq
10. Nehal Bhuta: A New Bonapartism?
11. Andrew Arato: Empire's Democracy, Ours and Theirs
12. Haifa Zangana: Three Cyclops of Empire Building: Targeting the Fabric of Iraqi Society
Part IV. Resisting Empire: Room for Manoeuvre?
13. Reg Whitaker: Drifting Away from the Edge of Empire: Canada in the Age of George W. Bush
14. David Coates: A 'Just War', or Just another of Tony Blair's Wars?
15. Fuyuki Kurasawa: The Uses and Abuses of Humanitarian Intervention in the Wake of Empire
16. Jayan Nayar: Taking Empire Seriously: Empire's Law, People's Law, and the World Tribunal in Iraq
17. Samir Amin: Whither the United Nations?
Index

'Right now there can't be enough discussion of America's role in world politics ... This is a much-needed collection from leading scholars'