Globalization, violence and world governance / by Laura Westra.

• Superior document: Studies in critical social sciences, v. 30
• Author: Westra, Laura.
• Year of Publication: 2011
• Edition: 1st ed.
• Language: English
• Series: Studies in critical social sciences ; v. 30.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (253 p.)
• Notes: Description based upon print version of record.

In this work Laura Westra draws our attention to the failure of international law to promote and protect the rights of society in the face of the ravages of neoliberal agendas in an era of globalization. This book outlines how international law is perhaps a misnomer, and at its core there is a great distance between laws as they are written and laws as they are implemented. Each chapter in this volume peels back the illusions of laws as instruments designed to protect the public welfare, and shows how the intersection of globalization and neoliberal democracy has stripped people of their dignity, has violated human rights, has resulted in ecological disaster, all for the singular goal of profit and in the name of so-called economic rationality. Westra demonstrates how documents like national constitutions, with its eloquent language on the rights of its citizens, are cast aside when it comes to defending those rights. Calling international law a failed enterprise, the heart of this book explores how we may yet reconstruct a true system of international rights enforced by real international laws, and contemplates the limitations and possibilities of international organizations to effectively address truly international problems. Through the lens of what might be called a political ecology Westra offers us a call for action to protect our environments and indeed our selves.

Table of Contents

Preliminary Material / L. Westra -- Introduction / L. Westra -- Chapter One. Globalization And World Governance: A Preliminary Discussion / L. Westra -- Chapter Two. Globalization As “Plunder”, “Exploitation” And “Ecoviolence”: A Causal Analysis / L. Westra -- Chapter Three. Hazards, Ecoviolence And The Need For World Law / L. Westra -- Chapter Four. Cosmopolitanism And Neoliberal Democracy In Conflict / L. Westra -- Chapter Five. The Right To Water: Israel V. Palestine (A Case Study) / L. Westra -- Chapter Six. The United Nations And International Law: Is World Governance The Way Forward? / L. Westra -- Appendix I. List Of Cases / L. Westra -- Appendix II. List Of Documents / L. Westra -- References / L. Westra -- Index / L. Westra.