The Creation of States in International Law

The second edition of James Crawford's The Creation of States in International Law brings up to date the most comprehensive treatment of statehood in the field of international law. While retaining an enormous wealth of historical material of continuing validity, the second edition tackles new problems and questions such as the international disposition of territory in Kosovo and East Timor, claims for secession in Chechnya and Quebec, and the alleged category of 'failed States,' often misleadingly applied to Somalia and Afghanistan. The second edition's analytic framework includes events such as the dissolution of the former Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union, the unification of Germany, and devolution in Scotland. The book also reassesses various persistent questions in the light of the last quarter of a century of practice, such as the relation between Israel and Palestine, the status of Taiwan and Tibet, and the interplay between 'stronger' and 'weaker' States.