Book Notes
| Author | Kristine Höglund |
| Date | 01 March 2006 |
| DOI | 10.1177/002234330604300226 |
| Published date | 01 March 2006 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
journal of PEACE RESEARCH volume 43 / number 2 / march 2006
236
Scott, Shirley V., 2004. International Law in
World Politics: An Introduction. Boulder, CO &
London: Lynne Rienner. 327 pp. ISBN
1588261999.
Writing an easily accessible but still comprehen-
sive text on the role of international law in current
world politics is not easy, yet it is exactly what
Shirley Scott has accomplished with this excellent
introductory book. The author demonstrates how
law and politics are closely entwined and how
international law is an autonomous system.
Throughout the clearly structured chapters, she
gives the reader a basic introduction to the
making of international law, some key insti-
tutions and actors and insights into major
theoretical debates, including concepts and ter-
minology, all presented with examples and notes
that can guide the interested reader further into
the literature. More detailed overviews are
provided in the areas of arms control, human
rights and environmental and humanitarian law.
While intended for students in international
relations with little previous knowledge of inter-
national law, it will also be appreciated by more
advanced readers and by students wanting to
explore the wider world of international relations.
The book deserves to be widely read and is likely
to be on many curricula for years. The next
edition could, perhaps, benefit from paying even
more attention to the political milieu within
which international law evolves. One example is
the development of the international human
rights regime. Here, Scott could greatly increase
the readers’ understanding by focusing more on
the decisive impact that the Cold War and the rise
of the Third World had in the decades following
the adoption of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights. It would also be interesting to
supplement the book with a chapter on trade, a
branch of international law with tremendous
importance.
Hanne Hagtvedt Vik
Stålsett, Sturla J. & Oddbjørn Leirvik, eds,
2004. The Power of Faiths in Global Politics. Oslo:
Novus. 192 pp. ISBN 8270993980.
This edited volume examines an assortment of
topics related to religion and politics in the
globalized age, particularly through single and
comparative case studies. The introductory
chapter by Peter Beyer provides a comparison of
ways in which states control religion, followed by
three chapters dealing with the definition of
power in the study of religion and elsewhere,
whether the state should support religion, and the
language of human rights as a common ‘currency’
between denominations as well as between
religion and the secular. The second section is a
collection of contemporary case studies of
religion and national identities in the Middle
East, Cuba and Norway. The third part discusses
resistance and integration as two different theo-
logical responses to globalization. Finally, the
editors provide a critique of Beyer’s distinction
between ‘liberal’ and ‘conservative’ responses to
globalization and religious ‘function’ versus ‘per-
formance’, to which Beyer responds. The volume
is based on a research conference on religion and
politics, which might explain why the analyses at
times seem somewhat cursory. The individual
cases presented provide interesting observations.
However, the book could have been more firmly
edited to increase the overall coherence; and the
case studies, in particular, could have benefited
from a clearer common focus. A Nordic perspec-
tive provides the framework for many of the
chapters. Although interesting in its own right,
this may not appeal to a wide international
audience. This volume will probably not merit
being a core text in advanced academic courses,
nor is it a typical introductory volume to the
research area. Still, it can be a good read for
scholars and students interested in religion in the
modern era.
Ragnhild Nordås
Starkey, Brigid; Mark A. Boyer & Jonathan
Wilkenfeld, 2005. Negotiating a Complex World:
An Introduction to International Negotiation, 2nd
edn. Boulder, CO: Rowman & Littlefield. 192
pp. ISBN 0742535770.
The context and circumstances surrounding
international negotiation have undergone funda-
mental changes in recent decades, with water-
sheds such as the end of the Cold War and the
terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001. This
revised edition of Negotiating a Complex World
(first published in 1999) brings the field up to
date. The authors use the metaphor of games as a
way of understanding the central aspects of inter-
national negotiation. The board provides the
setting for negotiation: the nature of the
international system, the number of actors, types
of issues and characteristics of the process. The
players include traditional actors such as states,
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