David P. Fidler

Edmund Burke has long been regarded as one of the most important political thinkers of the late eighteenth century, and his writings and speeches continue to inspire and challenge to the present day. But Burke's thinking on international relations has not been fully addressed by the scholarly community. This situation is ironic given that so much o

Biosecurity comprehensively analyzes the dramatic transformations that are reshaping how the international community addresses biological weapons and infectious diseases. The book examines the renewed threat from biological weapons, and explores the new world of biological weapons governance. Gostin and Fidler argue that the arms control approach in the Biological Weapons Convention no longer dominates. Other strategies have emerged to challenge the arms control approach, and the book identifies four important policy trends—the criminalization of biological weapons, regulation of the biological sciences, management of the biodefense imperative, and preparation for biological weapons attack. The book also explores the challenges to public health resulting from new security threats. The authors look at the linkages between security and public health policy, both at the national and international level. For instance, Gostin and Fidler scrutinize the difficulty of developing policies that improve defenses against both biological weapons and the threat of infectious diseases from new viral strains. The new worlds of biological weapons and public health governance raise the importance of crafting policy responses informed by the rule of law. Thinking about the rule of law underscores the importance of finding globalized forms of biosecurity governance. The book explores patterns in recent governance initiatives and advocates building a "global biosecurity concert" as a way to address the threats biological weapons and infectious diseases present in the early 21st century.

Empire and Community provides the first comprehensive presentation of Edmund Burke’s thinking on international relations. Although Burke’s writings and speeches have been the subject of much analysis and controversy, his perspective on international relations has not been fully addressed by the scholarly community. David P. Fidler and Jennifer M. Welsh establish Burke as a “classical thinker” on international relations and help to situate his thinking within current international relations theory. Their detailed introduction is followed by edited selections from Burke’s writings and speeches on Ireland, America, India, and the French Revolution.

International Law and Infectious Diseases is the first comprehensive analysis of the intersection between international law and infectious diseases. Infectious diseases pose a global threat, and international law plays an important but under-explored role in infectious disease control. The book analyses the globalization of public health; and it examines the history of international law in this area, the International Health Regulations, and international law on trade, human rights, armed conflict and arms control, and the environment. Fidler develops the concepts of microbialpolitik and global health jurisprudence to provide a political perspective and a framework for future legal action. The aim of this series of monographs is to publish important and original pieces of research on all aspects of public international law. Topics that are given particular prominence are those, which, while of interest to the academic lawyer, also have important bearing on issues which, touch the actual conduct of international relations. None the less the series is wide in scope and includes monographs on the history and philosophical foundations of international law.