The Law of Nations and Britain's Quest for Naval Security

Introduction.- Chapter 1 Arms Control Antecedents in the Nineteenth Century .- Armaments Competition and National Interest in the Nineteenth Century .- The Anglo-French Naval Declarations of 1787 .- Rush-Bagot Agreement of 1817.- Black Sea Neutralization of 1856 .- St. Petersburg Declaration of 1868 - "Explosive Missals" .- Customary Limits on Armaments .- International Law and Security in the Nineteenth Century.- Conclusion .- Chapter 2 International Law in the Nineteenth Century.- The Declaration of London 1871 .- The Context of International Law.- Scholars and Official Law.- Sources of Law and Non-binding Agreements .- The Function of International Law: "An Obstacle though not a Barrier".- Law's Function in Increasing Predictability .- Law's Function in Communicating Vital Interests.- Law's Function in Strengthening Mutual Interests.- Enforcement of Legal Obligations and Expectations of War.- Legal Enforcement and International Order.- Conclusion.- Chapter 3 The First Hague Peace Conference.- Introduction.- International Law and General Disarmament.- Calling of the Hague Conference of 1899.- British Preparation for the Hague Conference.- British Naval Armament Limitation Offer to Russia.- Great Britain and Disarmament at The Hague.- Land Armaments at The Hague.- General Limitation Debates at The Hague.- Naval Armaments at The Hague.- Armaments Declarations at The Hague.- Conclusion.- Chapter 4 Naval Arms Control and Regional Negotiations: Precedents, Issues, and Implications.- Argentine-Chilean Naval Arms Race.- The Pacts of May.- The Pacts of May and Regional Competition.- Revision of the Rush-Bagot Agreement.- Naval Arms Control in the New Century: Precedents and Implications.- Conclusion.- Chapter 5 Preparations for the Second Hague Peace Conference.- Introduction.- The Russo-Japanese War and the Hague Agenda.- Diplomacy Prior to the Second Hague Peace Conference.- The Walton Committee and the Hague Agenda.- The Walton Committee and Naval Armaments.-

Scott Keefer is Lecturer at Bournemouth University, UK. He has previously worked as an international lawyer, as well as teaching at the University of Heidelberg and the London School of Economics. His research on the history of international law has included a Fulbright Fellowship at the Max Planck Institute.

"Keefer's book provides a useful and cogent introduction to international law in the context of British arms limitations negotiations and policies in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He successfully shows how international law operated as a significant part of British diplomacy prior to the First World War. ... Keefer's new book should prove fruitful reading by naval historians seeking to enhance their existing understating of international law and its functioning in the pre-First World War period." (Alan M. Anderson, International Journal of Maritime History, Vol. 30 (03), August, 2018)