In this thought-provoking analysis of international relations, the Onufs deepen our understanding of the law of nations in a world of profound change. Federal Union, Modern World relates the emergence of the modern concept of state-societies to the remarkable experiments in constitution-making in the United States and shows how efforts to model a federal union in America influenced the broader relations of European nation-states. Relying on ancient and early modern sources prominent in the minds of the Founders, the authors show how the idea of a federal union was applied to the nations of the world. This profound conceptual change in international relations sundered the law of nations from naturalism and grafted it into modern ideas of liberalism. The formation of the United States as federation, argue the Onufs, "expressed Enlightenment impulses . . . more fully than any contemporaneous developments in Europe." Furthermore, as the Founders attempted to secure a tenable position for their creation, they inspired a shift in international relations theory from natural legal doctrine to the positive law of states. This timely study of international union and disunion informs us as much about the decades of revolution as it does about the context of international relations in our own time.

About the Author
Peter Onuf is the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation Professor of History at the University of Virginia. He has written widely in the field of early American history including The Origins of the Federal Republic, Statehood and the Union, The Midwest and the Nation (with Andrew R.L. Clayton), A Union of Interests (with Cathy D. Matson), and Jeffersonian Legacies. Nicholas Onuf is professor of international politics and foreign policy at Florida International University.

Reviews
This is a fascinating and timely study that deepens our understanding of the law of nations and the international context that informed the thinking of the Founders as they created a federal union. . . . It's an excellent volume and an evident collaborative success. -- James Farr, Professor of Political Science, University of Minnesota



Book Information
ISBN 9780945612346
Author Peter Onuf
Format Hardback
Page Count 232
Imprint Rowman & Littlefield
Publisher Rowman & Littlefield
Weight(grams) 454g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 152mm * 25mm