London Metropolitan University Research Institutes
 

The Leasing of Guantanamo Bay 25/06/09

Picture shows: Dr Strauss during his lecture

The Leasing of Guantanamo Bay

Dr. Michael Strauss
Centre d’Etudes Diplomatiques et Stratégiques, Paris

PUBLIC SEMINAR and BOOK LAUNCH

Thursday 25th June 2009

Henry Thomas Room,
Tower Building,
London Metropolitan University,
N7 8DB
(Opposite Holloway Road tube station)


More than 20 people attended this seminar in which Dr Strauss examined the critical factor underlying everything that has occurred at Guantanamo Bay: the century-old lease by which the United States controls this piece of Cuban territory.
The talk summarized how the lease came about, what it says, how it has functioned, why it still exists, and what some scenarios are for its future after the U.S. prison is shut down.
Dr Strauss explained how the arrangement allowed Guantanamo Bay to fall outside of the conventional legal frameworks of both the U.S. and Cuba, a feature that made the territory more valuable to the U.S. than its original use as a naval installation.
Finally, he showed how the terms of the lease turned Guantanamo Bay into a political and legal laboratory, raising questions about fundamental concepts of international law and the practice of states.
TO DOWNLOAD THE POWERPOINT USED IN THIS SEMINAR CLICK ON
THE ICON BELOW:
Guantanamo ppt

The seminar was followed by a book launch and signing by Dr Strauss, further details of the book can be found on the publisher's website:

Michael J. Strauss is Lecturer in International Relations at the Centre d’Etudes Diplomatiques et Stratégiques, Paris, specializing in territorial leases as phenomena of international relations and international law. Before entering academia, he was an international journalist and served as bureau chief for Agence France-Presse’s AFX News in Paris, Knight-Ridder Financial News in Madrid, and Dow Jones News Service in Geneva. He took his Ph.D. in International Relations and Diplomacy from the Centre d’Etudes Diplomatiques et Stratégiques and his M.Sc. in Journalism from Columbia University, where he was an International Fellow in the School of International Affairs. In addition to The Leasing of Guantanamo Bay, he is the author of The Viability of Territorial Leases in Resolving International Sovereignty Disputes: A Comparative Study (forthcoming).






 

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