Law in an Emerging Global Village: A Post-Westphalian Perspective

Abstract

Already highly acclaimed as a seminal analysis of the New World Order, Professor Falk's Law in an Emerging Global Village clearly establishes a new arena of international law where three distinct historical forces meet and contend: the old Westphalian nation-state model, the global civil society as represented by international human rights conventions, and transnational market forces that pervade nearly every area of life as well as legal practice. As manifestations of the substantive legal realities of the post-Westphalian order, Professor Falk focuses on: the United Nations Charter's mandate for humanitarian intervention and how it has been interpreted and applied in actual interventions; the urgent need for international environmental protection and its diminished support in the dominant international neoliberal regime; the significance of the codification of the law of the sea, especially in respect of naval operations; and the continuing failure of initiatives to unilaterally outlaw nuclear weapons. This book concludes with a detailed discussion of the prospects for humane governance in the coming global civilization.