European Conquest and the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: The Moral Backwardness of International Society

by Paul Keal

• ISBN13: 9780521824712
• ISBN10: 0521824710
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-09-22
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Paul Keal examines the historical role of international law and political theory in justifying the dispossession of indigenous peoples as part of the expansion of international society. Paradoxically, he argues, law and political theory can now form the basis of the recovery of indigenous rights. Arguing for the recognition of indigenous peoples as "peoples" with the right of self-determination in constitutional and international law, Keal questions the moral legitimacy of international society and examines concepts of collective guilt and responsibility.

Table of Contents

Introduction

1. Bringing 'peoples' into international society

2. Wild 'men' and other tales

3. Dispossession and the purposes of international law

4. Recovering rights: land, self-determination and sovereignty

5. The political and moral legacy of conquest

6. Dealing with difference

Conclusion.