Friday, June 27, 2008

Levitt: Africa: Mapping New Boundaries in International Law

Jeremy Levitt (Florida International Univ. - Law) has published Africa: Mapping New Boundaries in International Law (Hart Publishing 2008). Contents are available here. Here's the abstract:
The principal aim of this work is to provide a forum for leading international lawyers with experience and interest in Africa to address a broad range of intellectual challenges concerning the contribution of African states and peoples to international law. As such, the volume addresses orthodox topics of international law - such as jurisdiction and intervention - but tackles them from an African perspective, and seeks to ask whether, in each case, the African perspective is unique or affirms existing arrangements of international law. The book cannot come at a more important time. While international legal discourse has been captured by the challenge of terrorism since September 11, 2001, there are clear signs that other issues are returning to the fore. Political interest in Africa has undergone a global revival, and the OAU has been transformed into the African Union. Infrastructural challenges, along with those taking place in regional contexts, have effectively mapped a new politico-legal landscape for Africa. This, and more, is explored, and the key normative questions are addressed in a series of essays by leading Africanist scholars.