Donor: British Embassy in Belgrade
Duration of the project: June 2006 – December 2006
The overall purpose of the project was to counter the view of the international community in Serbian society which is based on many misconceptions which border on the irrational. By publishing and disseminating Prof. Simpson’s book, the Belgrade Centre was aiming at contributing to creating a more reasonable and theoretically informed view of the international community and Serbia’s position.Dr. Ivan Janković, attorney at law, has translated the book. This book is a theoretical investigation of legal mechanisms which perpetuate the hegemony of the powerful and the marginalization of the weak States. The theoretical problem at the core of Simpson’s thesis is the interplay between the principles of sovereign equality and legalized hegemony. Simpson demonstrates how certain States come to be perceived and defined as outsiders to the international order and how they are subjected to international sanctions, including „humanitarian“ and other forms of intervention. This demonstration is based on an analysis of three successive world orders: the Concert of Europe, the League of Nations and the system based on the UN Charter. Together with Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan, Serbia is a good example of an outlaw state, which makes the project of translating Simpson’s work into Serbian relevant to the development of an informed and critical Serbian public opinion with respect to Serbia’s international position and status.
