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CHAOS AS UTOPIA: INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL PROSECUTIONS AS A CHALLENGE TO STATE POWER

Studies in Law, Politics and Society

ISBN: 978-0-76231-074-6, eISBN: 978-1-84950-252-8

Publication date: 10 December 2003

Abstract

Utopia, a term first coined by Sir Thomas More in the sixteenth century, referred to a place of unattainable social perfection. But the appeal of a concept that embraces rather than mocks the imagination has broadened its meanings and uses. In the early twentieth century, Anatole France wrote, “Out of generous dreams come beneficial realities. Utopia is the principle of all progress, and the essay into a better future.” In contemporary vernacular, utopia has come to refer not only to imagining perfection but cures for imperfection. By this definition, any struggle for rights could be conceived as utopian to the extent that it represents a desire to make the world a better place for the would-be beneficiaries. The utopianism of rights envisions conditions in which human dignity can be ensured and vulnerability minimized.

Citation

Hajjar, L. (2003), "CHAOS AS UTOPIA: INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL PROSECUTIONS AS A CHALLENGE TO STATE POWER", Studies in Law, Politics and Society (Studies in Law, Politics, and Society, Vol. 31), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 3-23. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1059-4337(03)31001-4

Publisher

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2003, Emerald Group Publishing Limited