Includes bibliographical references (p. 203-217) and index.

Robert Jackson examines the birth and survival of Third World nations since the end of the Second World War. He describes these countries as "quasi-states," arguing that they exist more by the support and indulgence of the international community than by the abilities and efforts of their own governments and peoples. He investigates the international normative framework that upholds sovereign statehood in the Third World. This he calls "negative sovereignty" and contrasts it with what he sees as the "positive sovereignty" that emerged in Europe along with the modern state. Within this structure, he examines how negative sovereignty arose, and its mechanisms and consequences for both international politics and the domestic conditions of quasi-states. He concludes by assessing the future of quasi-states and the institution of negative sovereignty.