Humanity at Sea
Maritime Migration and the Foundations of International Law

This book integrates legal, historical, and philosophical materials to illuminate the migration topic and to provide a novel theory of human rights.

Itamar Mann (Author)

9781316602652, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 7 September 2017

263 pages, 2 b/w illus.
23 x 15.3 x 1.4 cm, 0.4 kg

'I would recommend this book to those that are interested in maritime law, those interested in the refugee crisis, and those looking for a good read in general. Mann made great arguments and I learned about several events and atrocities that I hadn't heard of before.' Ashlee N. Williams, AmeriQuests (www.ameriquests.org)

This interdisciplinary study engages law, history, and political theory in a first attempt to crystallize the lessons the global 'refugee crisis' can teach us about the nature of international law. It connects the dots between the actions of Jewish migrants to Palestine after WWII, Vietnamese 'boatpeople', Haitian refugees seeking to reach Florida, Middle Eastern migrants and refugees bound to Australia, and Syrian refugees currently crossing the Mediterranean, and then legal responses by states and international organizations to these movements. Through its account of maritime migration, the book proposes a theory of human rights modelled around an encounter between individuals in which one of the parties is at great risk. It weaves together primary sources, insights from the work of twentieth-century thinkers such as Hannah Arendt and Emmanuel Levinas, and other legal materials to form a rich account of an issue of increasing global concern.

Introduction. Humanity washed ashore
1. Flagless vessel
2. What is a human rights claim?
3. What is a human rights commitment?
4. Between moral blackmail and moral risk
5. The place where we stand
6. Imagination and the human rights encounter
Conclusion. The dual foundation of international law
Postscript.

Subject Areas: International law [LB], Human rights [JPVH]