Description
Book SynopsisThe word ''legitimacy'' is seldom far from the lips of practitioners of international affairs. The legitimacy of recent events - such as the wars in Kosovo and Iraq, the post-September 11 war on terror, and instances of humanitarian intervention - have been endlessly debated by publics around the globe. And yet the academic discipline of IR has largely neglected this concept. This book encourages us to take legitimacy seriously, both as a facet of international behaviour with practical consequences, and as a theoretical concept necessary for understanding that behaviour. It offers a comprehensive historical and theoretical account of international legitimacy. It argues that the development of principles of legitimacy lie at the heart of what is meant by an international society, and in so doing fills a notable void in English school accounts of the subject. Part I provides a historical survey of the evolution of the practice of legitimacy from the ''age of discovery'' at the end of the
Trade ReviewReview from previous edition Legitimacy in International Society is an immensely scholarly work, well researched and closely argued. * Times Higher Education Supplement, March 2006. *
Ian Clark's book offers the most comprehensive analysis of legitimacy in international relations available today, in the process breathing new life into the concept of international society. Few international relations scholars today can demonstrate such range and relevance. * Perspectives on Politics *
In this work, Clark achieves the objective of showing how legitimacy is intrinsically connected to international society. * Journal of Peace, May 2006 *
This book constitutes a sound study of the role of legitimacy in the international realm. * Journal of Peace Research, Vol 43, May 2006 *
Clark provides one of the most systematic and historically informed accounts of international legitimacy to appear in many years. * Foreign Affairs *
Ian Clark's contribution is a theoretically sophisticated, historically rooted and timely work, that justly proclaims itself the most sustained treatment of the concept of legitimacy yet attempted in an International Relations context. * Cambridge Review of International Affairs *
In short, this is a superb, provocative volume that has in one swoop placed legitimacy firmly on the agenda and significantly raised the intellectual bar on its study. It is essential and rewarding reading. * International Affairs *
Ian Clark's Legitimacy in International Society is a timely contribution...Clark has provided us with a rich understanding of the role of this concept in IR, and in doing so has secured its place in the English Schools lexicon * Political Studies Review *
Clark's book deserves a wide reading. He seamlessly incorporates history and theory into an insightful analysis of an important concept. * Politics and Ethics *
Ian Clark's exceptionally interesting book should reinvigorate the debate about the nature of legitimacy in the rapidly evolving international context. This important book deserves a significant audience. * Millennium *
Table of ContentsIntroduction ; 1. International Legitimacy ; PART I: HISTORICAL INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY ; 2. Europe and the Scope of International Society ; 3. Westphalia: The Origins of International Legitimacy? ; 4. Utrecht: Consensus, Balance of Power, and Legitimacy ; 5. Revolutionary and Legitimate Orders: Revolution, War, and the Vienna Settlement ; 6. Versailles: The Making of an Illegitimate Order? ; 7. Legitimacy and the Dual Settlement of 1945 ; PART II: CONTEMPORARY INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY ; 8. Legitimacy after the Cold War ; 9. Legitimacy and Rightful Membership ; 10. Legitimacy and Consensus ; 11. Legitimacy and Norms ; 12. Legitimacy and Equilibrium ; Conclusion
