It is a fundamental term of the social contract that people trade allegiance for protection. In the nineteenth century, as millions of people made their way around the world, they entangled the world in web of allegiance that had enormous political consequences. Nationality was increasingly difficult to define. Just who was a national in a world where millions lived well beyond the borders of their sovereign state? As the nineteenth century gave way to the twentieth, jurists and policymakers began to think of ways to cut the web of obligation that had enabled world politics. They proposed to modernize international law to include subjects other than the state. Many of these experiments failed. But, by the mid-twentieth century, an international legal system predicated upon absolute universality and operated by intergovernmental organizations came to the fore. Under this system, individuals gradually became subjects of international law outside of their personal citizenship, culminating with the establishment of international courts of human rights after the Second World War.

'Nationals Abroad is a wonderfully written, rich and innovative study which unearths and problematizes the histories of international business interests and the creation of the international human rights regime and chronicles the rise and decline of diplomatic protection in favor of individual independent claims before international tribunals.'

Doreen Lustig - Tel Aviv University

'The individual is the new centrepiece of international law, yet most studies are confined to her human rights against her own state. Bringing together international law, human rights law, international economic law, and legal history together, Christopher Casey goes further. And with his superb writing skills he provides us with a book that is not only needed and timely, but also fascinating to read.'

Ralf Michaels - Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law

‘A tour de force. Nationals Abroad makes an important contribution to the historical literature on the place of individuals in international law. Casey rediscovers the central place that nationality occupied in the making of modern international law. Elegantly and charmingly written, this book is a must read for anyone interested in legal history of the nineteenth-century Atlantic.’

Peter J. Spiro - Charles Weiner Professor of Law, Temple University

‘The book is a good starting point for readers interested in a general survey of the history of international law … Nationals Abroad presents a logical narrative of the relationship between states and individuals in the past two centuries.’

Jeff Wu Source: New York University Journal of International Law and Politics

‘… Casey has written a path-breaking account of the history of the rights of aliens and the rights of states to protect nationals abroad. It is essential reading for anyone interested in the history of diplomatic protection and is highly recommendable to any reader interested in the relationship between human rights, migration, state responsibility and international investment.’

Doreen Lustig Source: The Law & Practice of International Courts and Tribunals

‘Elucidating the modalities of this tension and finding ways to resolve it in fair and sustainable ways demand a comprehensive understanding of international law’s past and present. The book at hand has started an important conversation.’

Ntina Tsouvala Source: Heidelberg Journal of International Law