The Yegiora Files

Today or rather the morning period (10:30am-12:00pm) was not really a good period for discussing the topic of theories. The hot topical sun and the successive blackouts hampered our continuity.  The reassuring fact is that we have hard drives and we have next week. We hope that next week is better then today and your hard drives are virus free so you can copy the video file from me without infecting my computer. I wish you all had access to YouTube. Going back to our discussion on theory, all of you highlighted the necessity of theories. Kossie asked whether international relations theories are prescriptive and Abenicah gave us the car analogy. Apart from them, all of you contributed to help us understand the importance of learning about theories. In relation to Kossie's question, different people who teach and read international relations have different understanding of whether the theories set out to explain, describe or prescribe . Many are of the opinion that inte

Cession is defined as the surrender, relinquishment, or assignment of territory by one state or government to another by the Free Dictionary. Oxford defines the term as the formal giving up of rights, property, or territory by a state. Vocabulary.com Dictionary says it is the act of giving up something, usually land, by the agreement in a formal treaty. For example, after a war, a losing country might make a cession of part of its land to the victor. In our discussion, Alexis and his group gave the example of territories that were returned to different states in adherence to the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. Alsace-Lorraine was given to France, Belgium received Eupen and Malmedy, Denmark got North Schleswig and so on. In relation to the question by Alexis, if we look at the word 'surrender' then in this context we can say that it is an example of cession. Surrender according to Merriam-Webster means to yield to the power, control, or possession of another upo

The international arena composes of many actors. State and non-state actors are the two important actors that operate within the boundaries of the Western-oriented international system. According to Griffiths, O’Callaghan and Roach (2008) there are two kinds of international law. One is referred to as private and other one public.     Also referred to as conflict law by Shaw (2009), private is concerned with the resolution of international disputes between individuals and companies. According to Shaw (ibid), “if two Englishmen make a contract in France to sell goods situated in Paris, an English court would apply French laws as regards the validity of that contract” .  Griffiths, O’Callaghan and Roach (2008) define public international law as laws that govern relations between states like claims for territory, use of the sea, arms control and human rights. Shaw (2009) also adds that public international law regulates the operations of the many international institutions.    

International law Action Vision 2050 strategic plan Sustainable Development Goals Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties To form and consolidate bilateral relations a state and its agents needs to sign various treaties.   Directional and enabling statement under international relations about increasing its bilateral relations with states and international organizations. Strengthening the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for development. Capacity-building - 17.9 Enhance international support for implementing effective and targeted capacity-building in developing countries to support national plans to implement all the sustainable development goals, including through North-South, South-South and triangular cooperation Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations To foster a good bilateral relations a state and its agents need to adhere to th

As defined by Oxford (2003), international law is “a set of rules generally recognize by civilized nations as governing their conduct towards each other and towards each other’s citizens” . This definition gives us a good understanding of how IR302 is connected to the program because it talks about rules governing the behaviour of nations. Apart from other strands within the program, the international relations strand is a strong strand with around 6 units. The field of international relations is defined by Goldstein (2005) as; “The relationships among the world’s state governments and the connection of those relationships with other actors (such as the United Nations, multinational corporations, and individuals), with other social relationships (including economic, culture and domestic politics), and with geographic and historical influences” (p. 556). In international relations, nations operate in an anarchic system where there is no central form of authority unlike the dome

Sources of International law Municipal law is different to international law. One clear cut difference is the fact that sources of law at the domestic level are acts, statues or organic laws made by the legislative arm of the government. Another source is judicial case law, which refers to decisions made by the judiciary which are not outlined in any acts, statues or organic laws made by the legislature. Thus the legislature and the judiciary both have prominent roles to play in making and interpreting various laws. Sadly, that is not case in international law. There is no legislative body to make international laws and no judicial body to interpret and extend the law.  This problem stems from the anarchic nature of the international system and the competing nature of sovereign states. To better understand we go back to the Westphalian principle of legal equality, no state is more powerful than the other hence anarchy and unavoidable competition. Goldstein’s explanation