This is a fascinating moral argument for reforming international law, especially on matters of secession and autonomy. The author argues that states must be instruments of justice. Insofar as states fail to meet this duty, they should become liable to international intervention by (a league of) rights-respecting states. Nations or peoples oppressed by unjust states should be permitted to secede under certain conditions. Parts two and three of the book provide extended specifications and qualifications for these theses. International relations have not been discussed much in political philosophy, so as far as I know the author really breaks new ground on many fronts. The moral challenges he presents to established pre-conceptions about "national interests", "self-determination" and current international law should be read by everyone involved or interested in international affairs.

I do wonder how many readers will persevere to the second half of the book, where the real argument begins, because the author is regrettably slow in getting to the point. At just over 70 pages, the introductory chapters are much longer than they need to be. The ensuing Part One: Justice contains another 160 pages of painstaking interpretations of earlier moral theory, particularly John Rawls' works. I think these discussions are a bit out of place in this work. A far simpler conception of justice would clearly have sufficed for the main arguments concerning international law. In fact a prospective reader could easily start reading this book exactly at the halfway point, at the beginning of Part Two, and immediately be up to speed on the main argument.