The Limits of Independence: Relations between States in the Modern World

Description

Nation states are not as independent as they seem. In The Limits of Independence, Adam Watson explores how independence of action is limited by both a tightening net of interdependence between countries and by the rules which the 'international society of states' has put in place to manage order and change. He also argues that the external and internal behaviour of independent states is increasingly determined by the influence of the richest and strongest powers. After setting out the general framework of restraint imposed on states, Adam Watson details the attempts to limit national sovereignties from Napoleon to the European Union. The Limits of Independence discusses pressures on smaller states and relates reactions against independence to current international theory and the practice of world powers. Dedication Contents Acknowledgements Personal perspective 1 The general framework 2 The European imbalance or power of the German question 3 Decolonization and its consequences 4 Size, nationalism and imperial systems 5 Standards of civilization and human rights 6 Independence and responsibility 7 New perspectives on the states system 8 The contemporary practice of hegemony Glossary Further reading on international society Index