Geoproperty - Foreign Affairs, National Security and Property Rights (Hardcover)

Property is a common denominator in human conflict as well as a useful tool for international studies. In order to apply property theory as a key to the analysis of human struggle, a broad definition of the term has to be accepted. Property is more than the things people own; it is the mass of rights and duties that associate persons with things, especially land. Arrogation of property is usually the precursor to the violation of human rights, but Geoff Demarest argues that the crusade for human rights has become a chase after symptoms that ignores the calculus of violated property rights underlying most murder and theft. A better understanding of property dynamics can help us achieve strategic designs, pacific or not. He seeks to restart international studies at the point of property, and in so doing, to find a mechanism for interpreting property changes, including those brought about by new technologies.