Promotional Information

"Strauss has composed the most comprehensive analysis to date of the legal status of Guantanamo Bay and its detention centers. More than just a history, The Leasing of Guantanamo Bay masterfully untangles the threads of law, politics and power that have made Guantanamo one of the strangest parcels of land on earth. For those who are interested in what goes on at Guantanamo and why, the book is indispensable." -- Marc Falkoff Assistant Professor at Northern Illinois University College of Law Editor of Poems from Guantanamo: The Detainees Speak "Michael Strauss adds an important and unique contribution to the pursuit of justice in the 21st century by calling into question the possibility of activities in the arena of a leased territory." -- Michael Ratner President Center for Constitutional Rights and author of Guantanamo: What the World Should Know, The Trial of Donald Rumsfeld, International Human Rights Litigation

About the Author

Michael J. Strauss is lecturer in international relations at the Centre d'Etudes Diplomatiques et Strategiques, Paris, specializing in territorial leases as phenomena of international relations and international law for resolving sovereignty disputes. Prior to 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 PhD in International Relations and Diplomacy from the Centre d'Etudes Diplomatiques et Strategiques and his M.Sc. in Journalism from Columbia University, where he was an International Fellow in the School of International Affairs. He is the author of The Viability of International Leases in Resolving International Sovereignty Disputes: A Comparative Study.

Reviews

An excellent study of the historical, political, and legal arrangements of this remarkable piece of land.
*Peace Palace Library*

[G]ives rare insight into the complicated nature of U.S.-Cuban relations and the agreement that led to the Guantanamo Bay facility. . . . Mixed with history of the facility, the book contains rarely reported insights on how the U.S. deviated from the lease terms and why Cuba made no challenge.
*Digital Quill*

Strauss (international relations, Centre d'Etudes Diplomatiques et Stratégiques, Paris) has used unpublished and previously classified government correspondence to document the historical emergence of Guantanamo Bay as a US military base and center for anti-terrorist efforts. The author explores the somewhat 'murky' leasing arrangements that defy both sovereignty and jurisdiction rights and provides students and scholars with the facts concerning the objectives of the territorial lease and the recent and current debates concerning the future of Guantanamo Bay. Appendices include relevant documents such as the Treaty of Paris, the Platt Amendment and the Guantanamo Bay Expansion Treaty of 1912.
*Reference & Research Book News*

Strauss brings international law to life with this technical yet accessible exploration of the U.S. naval station in southern Cuba.
*Foreign Affairs*

"The exhaustive analysis by Michael Strauss is the first that allows us to understand how the statute of Guantanamo . . . made this territory a detention center outside the standards which only Washington can put an end to. An excellent illustration of the arbitrary limits of international rights in this 21st century." - Translated from French
*Le Monde Diplomatique*

This thoughtful work represents a major contribution to the broader study of territorial leasing as well as a comprehensive case-study of the Guantanamo lease. It will undoubtedly be widely consulted in the years ahead as the issue of the territory's possible return to Cuba remains firmly on the agenda.
*International Affairs*