The Institutes of the Law of Nations. 2 vols.
Lorimer, James. The Institutes of the Law of Nations: A Treatise of the Jural Relations of Separate Political Communities. Originally published: Edinburgh: William Blackwood and Sons, 1883, 1884. Reprinted Clark, New Jersey: The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. 2 volumes. xviii, 449; xx, [ii], 620 pp. ISBN-13: 9781584775164. Hardcover. New. $149.95 * James Lorimer (1818-1890), Regius Professor of Public Law at the University of Edinburgh and a co-founder of the Institut de Droit International in 1873, was instrumental in institutionalizing international law as a distinct academic discipline. The Institutes represents a major nineteenth-century attempt to revive a conservative, ethnocentric framework of Natural Law to counter the rising tide of Legal Positivism. Lorimer's system is highly notable for its elitism, racism, and explicit support of colonialism. He serves as a chief architect of the nineteenth-century "Standard of Civilization," a legal framework that divided humanity into "civilized," "barbarous," and "savage" tiers. This hierarchy provided a sophisticated legal rationale that entitled European powers to ignore the sovereignty of "primitive" counterparts, legally legitimizing the "Scramble for Africa" and heavily influencing continental imperialists.
Price: $149.95
Book number 40715