Neal Riemer - Böcker

Neal Riemer presents, analyzes, and criticizes Marx's guiding values, his social scientific criticism of the existing 19th century order, his theory of revolutionary action, and his views of the future of economics, politics, society, and culture.

Neal Riemer's new book explores a vital, but surprisingly neglected theme. Riemer first examines two great historical breakthroughs: to religious liberty, and to the American federal republic. He then contrasts these genuine breakthroughs to two spurious ones: Calhoun's theory of the concurrent majority and Marx's theory of universal human emancipation. Riemer also examines a contemporary breakthrough to European Union to underscore the sense of continuing to deal with major problems that the conventional wisdom has deemed incapable of solution. Finally, he addresses a future breakthrough to protect against genocide via a global human rights regime employing policies of prudent prevention, effective implementation, and just humanitarian intercession. This book seeks to move political science beyond Cold War mentality and practice, a narrow-minded political realism, and post-modernism's nihilism toward a more prophetic politics. Riemer's latest book will be of crucial importance to scholars and students in all areas of political science, political philosophy, human rights, and international relations.

Without succumbing to utopian fantasies or realistic pessimism, Riemer and his contributors call for strengthening the key institutions of a global human rights regime, developing an effective policy of prudent prevention of genocide, working out a sagacious strategy of keenly targeted sanctions—political, economic, military, judicial—and adopting a guiding philosophy of just humanitarian intervention. They underscore significant changes in the international system—the end of the Cold War, economic globalization, the communications revolution— that hold open the opportunity for significant, if modest, movement toward strengthening key institutions.The essays explore key problems in working toward prevention of genocide. They highlight the existence of considerable early warning of genocide and emphasize that the real problem is a lack of political will in key global institutions. Sanctions, especially economic sanctions may punish a genocidal regime, but at the expense of innocent civilians. Thus, more clearly targeted sanctions are seen as essential. The argument on behalf of a standing police force to deal with the crime of genocide, as they show, is powerful and controversial: powerful because the need is persuasive, controversial because political realists question its cost and political feasibility. Implementing a philosophy of just humanitarian intervention requires an appreciation of the difficulties of interpreting those principles in difficult concrete situations. A permanent international criminal tribunal to deter and punish genocide, they argue, will put into place a much needed component of a global human rights regime. A thoughtful analysis for scholars and students of international politics and law, and human rights in general.

Without succumbing to utopian fantasies or realistic pessimism, Riemer and his contributors call for strengthening the key institutions of a global human rights regime, developing an effective policy of prudent prevention of genocide, working out a sagacious strategy of keenly targeted sanctions—political, economic, military, judicial—and adopting a guiding philosophy of just humanitarian intervention. They underscore significant changes in the international system—the end of the Cold War, economic globalization, the communications revolution— that hold open the opportunity for significant, if modest, movement toward strengthening key institutions.The essays explore key problems in working toward prevention of genocide. They highlight the existence of considerable early warning of genocide and emphasize that the real problem is a lack of political will in key global institutions. Sanctions, especially economic sanctions may punish a genocidal regime, but at the expense of innocent civilians. Thus, more clearly targeted sanctions are seen as essential. The argument on behalf of a standing police force to deal with the crime of genocide, as they show, is powerful and controversial: powerful because the need is persuasive, controversial because political realists question its cost and political feasibility. Implementing a philosophy of just humanitarian intervention requires an appreciation of the difficulties of interpreting those principles in difficult concrete situations. A permanent international criminal tribunal to deter and punish genocide, they argue, will put into place a much needed component of a global human rights regime. A thoughtful analysis for scholars and students of international politics and law, and human rights in general.