From '9-11' to the 'Iraq War 2003': International Law in an Age of Complexity

(Paperback)

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This book is a tale of two towers, two wars and two visions. The two towers are those of the World Trade Centre in New York, destroyed by a terrorist attack on 11 September 2001. The two wars are the War Against Terrorism and the War on Iraq. The two visions are of the international legal and political order for the twenty-first century. The issues involved in the War Against Terrorism and the War on Iraq are of fundamental importance because they may define the shape of international order for the twenty-first century. The book has number of themes. First, it considers the principal international law and international order issues involved in the War Against Terrorism and in the War on Iraq in 2003. Specific attention is given to the application of international humanitarian and international human rights law in the wars. Secondly it asks how the international debate on the Iraq War was conducted and why Finally it questions whether the post-1945 system of international laws and organizations is capable of surviving, and in what form. Chapter one outlines how the relationship between war and the international legal order has evolved and introduces the idea of 'complexity theory' as a framework for understanding the events and issues considered in this book. Chapter two considers the pattern of events from the attacks on the US on 9-11 to the Iraq War 2003. Chapter three addresses the issues of law and morality involved in the War Against Terrorism and the War on Iraq. Chapter four focuses on the moral and legal debate around the War on Iraq and chapter five considers the systemic consequences for international law doctrine and practice, giving particular weight to US policy and approaches and how other states have responded to them. Chapter six appraises the post-war situation in Iraq in terms of political and economic organisation and human rights. It also assesses the consequences of the status of post-war Iraq for the wider region. Chapter seven concludes the book by examining the possible implications of the War Against Terrorism and the War on Iraq for world order in the twenty-first century.

Reviews

McGoldrick writes with clarity and has made accessible...many of the difficult legal arguments in the area...[he] has a scholarly command of the doctrinal issues raised in the book...a valuable reference point for anyone interested in exploring international law and the two 'wars'. -- Madelaine Chiam * The Modern Law Review *
an accurate, well-written summary of the legal, political, and moral issues flowing from the wars on terrorism and Iraq...would make a useful reference in a public international law course. -- Kristy Pozniak * Saskatchewan Law Review, Vol 68 *
...a book for everyone concerned with the influence of terrorism, the Bush administration, and the War in Iraq on international institutions and international law..Alongside the fine discussion of the legal and political issues at play, the author also attempts to introduce a theoretical framework that may have broad application in social science as well as law. -- Mark J. Harris, University of California, Berkeley * The Law and Politics Book Review *
For those that are already familiar with the legal issues involved in the military interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the more broad 'war on terror', this text will add some interesting policy and theoretical perspectives. A good number of issues are raised that will trigger readers to give further thought to, and debate about, the role of international law and the UN in the maintenance of international order. -- Alex Conte, University of Canterbury * New Zealand Law Journal *

Author Bio

Dominic McGoldrick is Professor of Public International Law and Director of the International and European Law Unit, Liverpool Law School, University of Liverpool.