Böcker av Rein Mullerson

These are the memoirs and reflections on the most acute issues of the contemporary world by a boy from the Estonian countryside who, through accident and pure ambition, ended up as a professor at Moscow University and adviser to President Gorbachev on matters of international law. After a stint as head of Estonian diplomacy at crucial moments in the restoration of its independence, he later became a centennial professor at the LSE and chair of international law at King's College London. This is not a traditional autobiography. Besides reflecting on issues he dealt with while advising Soviet leaders, such as Yakovlev in his speech on the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact or the status of the Kuril Islands, and their repercussions in today's world, the book analyses the roots of the crisis within liberal democracy, the upsurge of populism, the rise of China and the re-emergence of Russia as a great power. A Marco Polo fellow at Jiaotong University in China and recently awarded the highest Russian Order for foreigners - the Friendship Order by President Putin, Professor Mullerson, who lives in London, feels equally at home discussing the renewal of great-power competition, the problems of the European Union including Brexit, the conflict in Ukraine, as well as the negative impacts of political correctness both in the former USSR and today's West. Having lived equal thirds of his life in three different worlds and worked in and visited many countries as a UN diplomat, he is a man who understands small country mentality, though being 'spoilt' by great-power mindset.

Provides broad and accessible coverage of important aspects of human rights. The text examines the relationship between human rights and international stability, the conundrum of cultural relativism, the use of force to settle human rights issues, and preventing violations.

Gives a contextual picture of prospects of democracy in the non-Western world with an emphasis on Central Asia and Russia, while the experience of other countries and regions serve mainly for the purposes of comparison or corroboration. This book is suitable for those who are involved in various capacities in democracy promotion.

Central Asia has huge oil and gas resources, divided between - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan - each with their own problems and interests. This work gives an analysis of this region, in the context of world politics. It also examines Central Asian Islam, and its place in the 'war against terrorism'.

The range of recent upheavals are used to show the interplay of international law and politics in the changing international system. The author is former Deputy Foreign Minister of Estonia and a distinguished professor.