Law's Fragile State: Colonial, Authoritarian, And Humanitarian Legacies In Sudan (Cambridge Studies in Law and Society) - Softcover

Massoud, Mark Fathi

Softcover

ISBN 10: 110744005X ISBN 13: 9781107440050

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2014

Synopsis

How do a legal order and the rule of law develop in a war-torn state? Using his field research in Sudan, the author uncovers how colonial administrators, postcolonial governments and international aid agencies have used legal tools and resources to promote stability and their own visions of the rule of law amid political violence and war in Sudan. Tracing the dramatic development of three forms of legal politics - colonial, authoritarian and humanitarian - this book contributes to a growing body of scholarship on law in authoritarian regimes and on human rights and legal empowerment programs in the Global South. Refuting the conventional wisdom of a legal vacuum in failed states, this book reveals how law matters deeply even in the most extreme cases of states still fighting for political stability.

About this title

Review:

'A remarkable piece of socio-legal scholarship [made] into an incredibly readable story.' Law and Society Association award citation

'Challenges our assumptions about the notion that law promotes democracy and human rights ... [an] insightful study.' American Political Science Association award citation

'An important and original contribution ... groundbreaking ... overdue and much needed.' Lutz Oette, Journal of African Law

'Insightful, sober, and forward-looking analysis of the practice of human rights in the harsh realities of violent conflict and moral ambivalence.' Abdullahi An-Na'im, Charles Howard Candler Professor of Law, Emory University

'A meticulous examination of the multiple roles, uses, and users of law in and by all of Sudan's several successive 'fragile states' ... This is a bracing and important book, humane and wise, in domains where neither humanity nor wisdom has been conspicuous.' Martin Krygier, Gordon Samuels Professor of Law and Social Theory, University of New South Wales

'Ambitious, passionate, and eminently readable - Law's Fragile State challenges the presumption that law is all but absent in war-torn contexts like that of Sudan ... [it] pushes the boundaries of law and society scholarship on several fronts at once.' Tamir Moustafa, author of The Struggle for Constitutional Power: Law, Politics, and Economic Development in Egypt

'Well-researched ... well-written [and] thought-provoking ... Highly recommended.' Choice

'Beautifully illustrates how law served political ends over 114 years of Sudanese history ... a personal and a professional journey [and] an outstanding contribution to a global literature.' Rachel E. Stern, Law and Politics Book Review

'Law's Fragile State invites us to interrogate exactly what we mean by the rule of law and what we expect it to accomplish.' Sally Engle Merry, Law and Social Inquiry

'A rich interdisciplinary analysis grounded in extensive fieldwork ... a compelling story.' Rachel Ellett, Law and Social Inquiry

Book Description:

How do a legal order and the rule of law develop in a war-torn state? Using his field research in Sudan, the author uncovers how colonial administrators, postcolonial governments and international aid agencies have used legal tools and resources to promote stability and their own visions of the rule of law amid political violence and war in Sudan.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 110744005X
• ISBN 13: 9781107440050
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 304