ABSTRACT

The absolute basis of international law is the 'deeply engrained' vision of 'larger than life' nations. Post-Second World War references to the concept of permanent sovereignty of a state over its natural resources occurred during the debates on human rights in the United Nations. Social ecology begins with the observation that sovereignty is a political creation. The realization that there is an 'international institutions vacuum' and that a new, or modified, international environmental body is needed to correct this imbalance has led to 'serious' calls for a powerful international legislative body. Implicit in many of the above views is what is commonly recognized as a neo-liberal view of the international system. Accordingly, all ideas of interdependence, pluralism and a willingness on the part of nation states to cede sovereign power to international bodies are nothing more than charades.