The Limits of International LawInternational law is much debated and discussed, but poorly understood. Does international law matter, or do states regularly violate it with impunity? If international law is of no importance, then why do states devote so much energy to negotiating treaties and providing legal defenses for their actions? In turn, if international law does matter, why does it reflect the interests of powerful states, why does it change so often, and why are violations of international law usually not punished? In this book, Jack Goldsmith and Eric Posner argue that international law matters but that it is less powerful and less significant than public officials, legal experts, and the media believe. International law, they contend, is simply a product of states pursuing their interests on the international stage. It does not pull states towards compliance contrary to their interests, and the possibilities for what it can achieve are limited. It follows that many global problems are simply unsolvable. The book has important implications for debates about the role of international law in the foreign policy of the United States and other nations. The authors see international law as an instrument for advancing national policy, but one that is precarious and delicate, constantly changing in unpredictable ways based on non-legal changes in international politics. They believe that efforts to replace international politics with international law rest on unjustified optimism about international law's past accomplishments and present capacities. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 35
Page 12
... interest without any regard to the action of the other state, we call it a coincidence of interest. There is a second possible explanation for the border. State A might be indifferent between one border and another border deeper in what ...
... interest without any regard to the action of the other state, we call it a coincidence of interest. There is a second possible explanation for the border. State A might be indifferent between one border and another border deeper in what ...
Page 13
... interest; it is a product of state self-interest. This does not mean, as critics of our earlier work have suggested ... coincidence of interest or bilateral cooperation, coercion, or coordination. We bolster these arguments with case ...
... interest; it is a product of state self-interest. This does not mean, as critics of our earlier work have suggested ... coincidence of interest or bilateral cooperation, coercion, or coordination. We bolster these arguments with case ...
Page 27
... Interest Coincidence of interest is a situation in which a behavioral regularity among states occurs simply because each state obtains private advantages from a particular action (which happens to be the same action taken by the other ...
... Interest Coincidence of interest is a situation in which a behavioral regularity among states occurs simply because each state obtains private advantages from a particular action (which happens to be the same action taken by the other ...
Page 28
... coincidence of interest may explain why states often appear to comply with treaty regimes: the treaties do not require the states to do anything different from what they would do on their own (see Oye 1986; Martin 1992; Downs, Rocke ...
... coincidence of interest may explain why states often appear to comply with treaty regimes: the treaties do not require the states to do anything different from what they would do on their own (see Oye 1986; Martin 1992; Downs, Rocke ...
Page 29
... coincidence of interest. Coincidence of interest exists when a state's incremental payoff from an action is independent of the action of the other state. Coercion exists when the strong state's payoff depends on the weak state's action ...
... coincidence of interest. Coincidence of interest exists when a state's incremental payoff from an action is independent of the action of the other state. Coercion exists when the strong state's payoff depends on the weak state's action ...
Contents
3 | |
19 | |
Part 2 Treaties | 79 |
Part 3 Rhetoric Morality and International Law | 163 |
Conclusion | 225 |
Acknowledgments | 227 |
Notes | 229 |
References | 235 |
Index | 253 |
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argue behavioral regularity belligerent benefits bilateral Britain British chapter cheap talk citizens claim coastal fishing vessels coercion coincidence of interest collective action problems commitment compliance comply with international consent coordination game cosmopolitan cosmopolitan action cosmopolitan duties cosmopolitan sentiments costs Court customary international law democratic diplomatic diplomatic immunity domestic law enforcement engage evidence example explain fishing vessel exemption foreign policy free ships GATT human rights abuses human rights law human rights treaties ICCPR individuals institutions international relations leaders legal obligation liberal democracies ment military moral obligation multilateral treaties navy negotiations neutral ships nonlegal agreements norms opinio juris other’s Paquete Habana parties payoffs preferences ratify rational choice rational choice theory reason reflect regime retaliation RUDs self-interest sense of legal slave trade Soviet Union state’s talk tariffs ternational territorial sea three-mile rule tions trade barriers trade treaties U.S. Civil War United vessel exemption rule violate voters