It is a pleasant task to be asked to write a foreword to this work, which is a comprehensive yet critical appraisal of the role of human rights, legitimacy and democracy in the practice of international organisations. It is the product of a doctoral research, departing from the 1995 suspension of Nigeria's Commonwealth membership after a coup d'état put in question respect for human rights and democratic government in the country and ending with the 2009 suspension of Fiji's rights as a member. A feature of the work is that it puts the legally significant events into a broader political and historical perspective, thus establishing links between international law and international relations, the two interacting in the day-to-day operation of intergovernmental organisations. It is also a remarkably thorough account of membership practice.

The study is structured in six chapters. Chapter 1 sets out the institutional framework in light of the human rights movement and the concept of legitimacy. Chapter 2 addresses the developing principle of universality in the League of Nations and the United Nations, and the tension between universality and other goals, including the promotion of democracy and human rights. Chapters 3 and 4 cover a broad range of regional organisations, addressing the respective differences in their membership criteria and practice in Europe (Chapter 3) and in ‘closed’ organisations such as ASEAN, the Commonwealth and the CSCE (Chapter 4).