Law Commons^™

Law And Terror, Kenneth Anderson

Kenneth Anderson

Doomed Internationalist, Kenneth Anderson

Kenneth Anderson

Subcontracting Sovereignty: The Commodification Of Military Force And The Fragmentation Of State Authority, Jackson N. Maogoto

Jackson Nyamuya Maogoto

This Article has as its central theme the decentralization of the state’s control over legitimate military force with the consequential diffusion of governmental control that stands to fragment state sovereignty. It argues that the increasing centrality of PMFs to the prosecution of war is creating a changed national security landscape with PMFs increasingly influencing governmental policy both overtly and covertly. PMF heads many of whom are former high ranking military and civilian personnel now advise governments and in some cases sit on government advisory boards. Additionally they also offer governments a conduit for pursuing covert foreign policy aims and circumvention …

Gaming For “Good Governance” And The Democratic Ideal: From Universalist Rhetoric To Pacific Realities Seen Through A Fijian Microscope*, Jackson N. Maogoto

Jackson Nyamuya Maogoto

This Article canvasses the international rubric and dynamic that informs the democracy and good governance crusade before moving the discussion to a regional setting targeting Pacific Island Countries with Fiji as a case study. It seeks to argue that democratic experimentalism, not the so-called “McDonaldization” (globalization as homogenization) of the world, is important. This is based on the premise that “McDonaldization” minimizes the complex way in which the local interacts with the international. The efficacy of democratic experimentalism is that it acknowledges that rights are not based on first principles, but that, they are inevitably socially constructed and historically contingent, …

State Responsibility For Private Armed Groups In The Context Of Terrorism, René Värk

René Värk

No abstract provided.

The Detainee Cases Of 2004 And 2006 And Their Aftermath, Ronald D. Rotunda

Ronald D. Rotunda

The War on Terror, more than any other war, involves lawyers. For example, they track down terrorist funding, freeze bank funds, and engage in electronic surveillance. Even more significantly, those whom the military has captured are using the U.S. court system to seek release from their detention. While there are a few cases on this issue going back to the Civil War and World War II, the U.S. Supreme Court has issued major rulings on this question in the last few years. The media and those suing the Government claim that these cases have rejected and dealt severe blows to …

Contemporary Private Military Firms Under International Law: An Unregulated “Gold Rush”, Jackson N. Maogoto, Benedict Sheehy

Jackson Nyamuya Maogoto

Clearly, the issues raised by the ascendance of contemporary PMFs would be suitable for a book length treatment; however, in light of the pressing nature of the present situation expediency dictates a shorter but timelier piece. This article has as its modest aim an exploration of the thorny legal issues raised by the commodification of force. It discusses the nature of the contemporary PMF noting that it bears vestiges of yester year mercenaries. It then grapples with their uncertain status under international law despite the fact that they potentially pose problems for state authority and the direct control of states …