Overview
The promotion of democracy is today a familiar feature of foreign policy, and an accepted part of the activities of international organizations. Should international law join in this move to promote democratic political arrangements? If so, on what basis, and with which of the many competing conceptions of democracy? Drawing on an eclectic range of source material, the author examines current debates about the emergence of an international legal 'norm of democratic governance', and considers how proposals for such a norm might be rearticulated to meet some of the concerns to which they give rise. She also uses these debates to illustrate some more general points about approaches to the study of international law. In doing so, she seeks to defend an approach to international legal scholarship that takes its cue from the tradition of ideology critique.
Full Product Details
Author: Susan Marks (, University of Cambridge)
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Dimensions:
Width: 15.60cm
, Height: 1.40cm
, Length: 23.40cm
Weight: 0.285kg
ISBN: 9780199264131
ISBN 10: 0199264139
Pages: 176
Publication Date: 06 March 2003
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: To order
Stock availability from the supplier is unknown. We will order it for you and ship this item to you once it is received by us.
Reviews
`Review from previous edition Susan Marks has written a brilliantly provocative and sophisticated book giving a strikingly original and far-reaching slant to her analysis. The Riddle of All Constitutions provides an excellent critique of mainstream proposals about how to bring the pursuit of democracy into the thinking and interpretations of international law.' The American Journal of International Law Vol. 96, No. 1, January 2002 `The particular virtue of this text is that it grapples with the question of the ultimate purpose of international law. ... Susan Marks ... has produced a clear, well argued text that draws upon a wide range of sources; this is a volume that deserves to attract a wide audience. ... those students fearing an examination question on the meaning and purpose of international law will be in a better position if they have spent some time reading this thought-provoking work. ... All can benefit from reading this timely and stimulating text.' Law Update 2001 `Susan Marks presents a trenchant review of the arguments concerning the emergence of a norm of democratic governance ...Marks' critique of contemporary writing is exceptionally clear and elegant...it is a sheer delight to read the work of a scholar who approaches her material with humility and a simple determination to engage with it and with her readers. For that alone this book would deserve the highest praise, as a substantial and significant contribution to the contemporary debate. But it also makes a substantial contribution to the literature...there can be no doubt that this book has moved the debate along considerably, and in great style.' Vaughan Lowe, Journal of Law and Society Vol. 27, No.4, 2000.
Susan Marks has written a brilliantly provocative and sophisticated book giving a strikingly original and far-reaching slant to her analysis. The Riddle of All Constitutions provides an excellent critique of mainstream proposals about how to bring the pursuit of democracy into the thinking and interpretations of international Law.
Author Information
Susan Marks is a Lecturer in Law at the University of Cambridge
