Review by Choice Review
A very useful, comprehensive, and important contribution to the study of international relations, international law, and comparative politics. In Part 1 Hannum meticulously explores the definition, development, and controversies surrounding sovereignty, statehood, self-determination, minority rights, indigenous rights, and human rights. The tension between the need for national unity and the demands for self-determination and autonomy permeates the discussion of the international legal and political context. In Part 2 the author examines nine case studies--Hong Kong, India, the Kurds, Nicaragua, the Saamis, Spain, Northern Ireland, Sri Lanka, and the Sudan. Hannum advocates the development of autonomous arrangements as mechanisms to respond to conflicting claims. Specific examples of these arrangements are analyzed in Part 3. As might be expected, the solutions are generally no match for the problems. An impressive and ambitious scholarly work touches upon the foremost factors contributing to conflict in the contemporary world. Upper-division undergraduates and above. -P. Watanabe, University of Massachusetts at Boston
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
