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 77
Page 4
... international law and international relations scholarship. Assumptions. The. assumption that states act rationally to ... comply with or breach them. Because the existence of a state and state action ultimately depend on individuals ...
... international law and international relations scholarship. Assumptions. The. assumption that states act rationally to ... comply with or breach them. Because the existence of a state and state action ultimately depend on individuals ...
Page 9
... international law. There is a related point. We consistently exclude one preference from the state's interest calculation: a preference for complying with international law. Some citizens, perhaps many, want their states to comply with ...
... international law. There is a related point. We consistently exclude one preference from the state's interest calculation: a preference for complying with international law. Some citizens, perhaps many, want their states to comply with ...
Page 10
... international law is an empirical question that we do not purport to resolve in this book. But there is a second, methodological reason why we exclude a preference for complying with international ... comply with international law rather than ...
... international law is an empirical question that we do not purport to resolve in this book. But there is a second, methodological reason why we exclude a preference for complying with international ... comply with international law rather than ...
Page 13
... international law does not pull states toward compliance contrary to their interests, and the possibilities for what international law can achieve are limited by the configurations of state interests and the distribution of state power ...
... international law does not pull states toward compliance contrary to their interests, and the possibilities for what international law can achieve are limited by the configurations of state interests and the distribution of state power ...
Page 14
... international law at specifying what counts as cooperation or coordination ... international human rights treaties and trade treaties. Part 3 addresses several ... comply with it. Another challenge to our thesis comes from those who claim ...
... international law at specifying what counts as cooperation or coordination ... international human rights treaties and trade treaties. Part 3 addresses several ... comply with it. Another challenge to our thesis comes from those who claim ...
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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Common terms and phrases
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