Domestic Deployment of the Armed Forces: Military Powers, Law and Human Rights

Terrorist acts of the 21st century have broken down traditional philosophical and legal resistance to the use of nations' armed services to deal with domestic crises. Historical precedence for domestic use of the military abounds, frequently with dire consequences for the resultant impact on human rights. Using history as a frame of reference, the authors analyze the issues related to domestic deployment of armed forces, both in general terms, and as they apply to specific First World countries: the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Australia. Annotation c2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Dr Michael Head, Associate Professor of Law at University of Western Sydney, is a well-known Australian writer on civil liberties, and has written extensively in legal journals and the media on the military call-out laws. He is author of Administrative Law: Context and Critique (Federation Press 2005); Law in Perspective: Ethics, Society and Critical Thinking (with Scott Mann, UNSW Press 2005) and Evgeny Pashukanis: A Critical Re-Appraisal (Cavendish-Routledge 2007, forthcoming). Dr Scott Mann, Associate Professor of Law at University of Western Sydney, has published extensively on legal and human rights issues. His recent books include Economics, Business Ethics and Law (Thomson, 2003) and Law in Perspective (with Michael Head).