Sarah McGibbon – författare

This book offers a foundational rethinking of how international law engages with non-state effective territorial entities - territories that, while legally part of a recognised state, are de facto governed by non-state actors or other states.These entities - ranging from ISIL-controlled areas in Syria to the contested territory of Crimea, the autonomous Somaliland, and Taiwan - occupy an increasingly prominent place in global politics, yet remain inadequately addressed in legal doctrine.Rather than assessing these territories through the binary lens of statehood, the book begins by assuming their non-state status and asks: what legal capacity and responsibilities do such entities hold under international law? It considers their obligations toward both other states and the populations under their control, and explores the broader implications for concepts like sovereignty, territorial integrity, and recognition.Drawing on four case studies across a spectrum of state-likeness, the book moves beyond isolated analyses of conflict or self-determination to offer a more holistic account of what these entities reveal about the limits and possibilities of the current international legal framework. It argues for a more functional, capacity-based understanding of legal responsibility that acknowledges the realities of territorial control without forgoing the notion and role of statehood.Combining doctrinal clarity with pragmatic ambition, this book challenges the state-centric foundations of international law and offers a roadmap for engaging with one of its most pressing contemporary challenges: the legal accommodation of non-state territorial authority in a world still structured around states.

Combining both theoretical and practical insights, the Research Handbook on Secession addresses a wide range of legal issues surrounding secessions. It considers both well-known examples such as Kosovo and Bangladesh alongside less frequently discussed cases including Somaliland and Palestine, offering state-of-the-art analysis of international law on statehood, secession, self-determination and related topics.Featuring contributions from a range of international scholars and experts, the Research Handbook discusses what a state is, distinguishes between declarations of independence and secessions, and examines the differences between secessions and the dissolution of states. Chapters provide both international law and comparative constitutional perspectives on issues of secession, inviting the reader to think afresh about the role of international law in territory and statehood. The Research Handbook also argues for the possibility that combining insights from international and constitutional law in particular could move the debate forward.This incisive Research Handbook will be crucial reading for scholars and students of constitutional and international law, as well as political science academics, with an interest in statehood and secession-related topics. It will further prove useful for international legal practitioners advising on these issues.