Review of Alex Green, Statehood as Political Community: International Law and the Emergence of New States

In Statehood as Political Community, Alex Green sets himself the task of bringing greater clarity to the vexed question of the criteria for the emergence of new states under international law. He seeks to do so by developing a normative basis for the creation of states that is also broadly consistent with recent past experiences to provide. The concept that he identifies and develops for this purpose is ‘political community.’ To satisfy the requirements for statehood, an aspirant state must be a ‘political community’ and must emerge in a manner consistent with the definition of the term. Each of these core conditions is grounded in ethical considerations in a manner explained throughout the book.