International Law and the Construction of the Liberal Peace

Russell Buchan is a Lecturer in International Law at the University of Sheffield.

…a captivating and well-argued account of the contributions of the international community and international society (seemingly similar yet clearly to be distinguished concepts which are central to the argument developed in the book) to the construction of a liberal peace. He brings us a clear and well-researched theory which, in essence, is that liberalism is a useful – if not necessary – theory to understand recent – and less recent – developments in the world order, both legally and politically/ institutionally…I have no hesitation in recommending this book to any international law or international relations scholar.

• Introduction PART 1 1: The International Society and the International Community 1. Introduction 2. The International Society 3. The International Community 3.1 Liberalism and Legitimate Statehood 3.2 Illegitimacy and the Denial of Sovereignty3.3 Disintegration of the International Community: Iraq 2003 4. Conclusion 2: The Role of International Law in the International Society and the International Community 1. Introduction 2. The International Society and International Law 2.1 The Principle of Non-Intervention 2.2 The Use of Force Prohibition 3. The International Community and International Law 3.1 Adapting Existing Principles of International Law 3.2 The Development of New Legal Rules and Concepts 4. Conclusion 3: The International Community and the Liberal Peace 1. Introduction 2. The Liberal Peace Thesis 3. Non-Liberal States and the State of Aggression 3.1 Case Study: Contrasting the US's Differing Responses to India and Iran's Nuclear Programmes 4. Quantifying and Prioritising Threats to the International Community 5. Conclusion 4: The International Community and the Security Council 1. Introduction 2. The Cold War Years: Protecting State Sovereignty 3. Post-Cold War: Promoting Liberal Democracy 3.1 Promoting Human Rights: Iraq (1991), Somalia (1993) and Libya (2011) 3.2 Promoting Democracy: Haiti (1994) and Sierra Leone (1997) 4. Conclusion PART 2 1255: The International Society and Peacekeeping 1. Introduction 2. Inter-State Peacekeeping and the Trinity of Virtues 2.1 The Trinity of Virtues: Consent, Neutrality and the Use of Force Only in Self-Defence 3. Intra-State Peacekeeping 3.1 Congo: ONUC 3.2 Cyprus: UNFICYP 4. Conclusion 6: The International Community and Peacebuilding 1. Introduction 2. The UN and Peacebuilding 2.1 Kosovo and East Timor: Historical Background 2.2 Independence, Declarations of Independence and Beyond 3. Afghanistan and the 'Light Footprint' Approach 3.1 The Bonn Agreement 3.2 The Implementation of Bonn and the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) 3.3 Operation Enduring Freedom, ISAF and Provincial Reconstruction Teams 3.4 Funding 4. Conclusion 7: The International Community and the Occupation of Iraq 1. Introduction 2. The Coalition Provisional Authority and the Liberal Reconstruction of Iraq 3. The Law of Occupation as a Product of the International Society 3.1 Hague Regulations 3.2 Fourth Geneva Convention 4. Alternative Sources of Authority 4.1 Debellatio 4.2 IGC and the Issue of Iraqi Consent 4.3 International Human Rights Law 4.4 Security Council Resolution 1483 5. Conclusion Conclusion