Theory And Philosophy Of International Law

Offers an accessible discussion of conceptual and moral questions on international law and advances the debate on many of these topics.

International law has recently emerged as the subject-matter of an exciting new field of philosophical investigation. This volume is the ideal guide to the current debates, offering 29 specially commissioned essays by leading philosophers and international lawyers, addressing the central philosophical questions about international law.

Why should sovereign states obey international law? In this groundbreaking study Fernando Tesón argues that an overlapping respect for human rights has created a moral common ground among the countries of the world. It is this common set of values rather than self-interest that ultimately provides legitimacy to international law. Using the tools of moral philosophy Tesón analyzes the concepts of sovereignty, intervention, and national interest; the contributions of social contact theory, game theory, and feminist theory; and the puzzles of self-determination and group rights.

A fundamental challenge to the foundations of the discipline of international law. This book offers an internal critique of the discipline of international law whilst showing the necessary place for philosophy within this subject area. By reintroducing philosophy into the heart of the study of international law Anthony Carty explains how traditional philosophy has always been an integral part of the discipline. However, this has been driven out by legal positivism, which has, in turn become a pure technique of law. He explores the extent of the disintegration and confusion in the discipline and offers various ways of renewing philosophical practice. A range of approaches are covered - post-structuralism, neo-Marxist geopolitics, social-democratic constitutional theory and existential phenomenology - encouraging the reader to think afresh about how far to bring order to, or find order in, contemporary international society.

This research collection offers a comprehensive view of the most notable contributions to the theory and philosophy of international law. In the first volume, a number of philosophical inquiries have been selected, alongside contributions offering general theoretical insight into international law and explores how philosophers and international law scholars tackle them in their respective fields of inquiry. In the second volume, the kaleidoscope of different contemporary theories and approaches to international law is presented. The collection is an indispensable reference for anyone interested in philosophical and theoretical investigations in international law.

For many centuries, thinkers have tried to understand and to conceptualize political and legal order beyond the boundaries of sovereign territories. Their concepts, deeply entangled with ideas of theology, state formation, and human nature, form the bedrock of todays theoretical discourses on international law. This volume engages with models of early international legal thought from Machiavelli to Hegel before international law in the modern sense became an academic discipline of its own. The interplay of system and order serves as a leitmotiv throughout the book, helping to link historical models to contemporary discourse. Part I of the book covers a diverse collection of thinkers in order to scrutinize and contextualize their respective models of the international realm in light of general legal and political philosophy. Part II maps the historical development of international legal thought more generally by distilling common themes and ideas, such as the relationship between universality and particularity, the role of the state, the influence of power and economic interests on the law, and the contingencies of time, space and technical opportunities. In the current political climate, where it appears that the reinvigorated concept of the nation state as an ordering force competes with internationalist thinking, the problems at issue in the classic theories point to contemporary questions: is an international system without central power possible? How can a normative order come about if there is no central force to order relations between states? These essays show that uncovering the history of international law can offer ways in which to envisage its future.

Two fish are swimming in a pond. 'Do you know what?' the fish asks his friend. 'No, tell me.' 'I was talking to a frog the other day. And he told me that we are surrounded by water!' His friend looks at him with great scepticism: 'Water? Whats that? Show me some water!' International lawyers often find themselves focused on the practice of the law rather than the underlying theories. This book is an attempt to stir up 'the water' that international lawyers swim in. It analyses a range of theoretical approaches to international law and invites readers to engage with different ways of legal thinking in order to familiarize themselves with the water all around us, of which we hardly have any perception. The main aim of this book is to provide interested scholars, practitioners, and students of international law and other disciplines with an introduction to various international legal theories, their genealogies, and possible critiques. By providing an analytical approach to international legal theory, the book encourages readers to enhance their sensitivity to these different approaches and to consider how the presuppositions behind each theory affect analysis, research, and practice in international law. International Law Theories is intended to assist students, scholars, and practitioners in reflecting more generally about how knowledge is formed in the field.

This book articulates a systematic vision of an international legal system grounded in the commitment to justice for all persons. It provides a probing exploration of the moral issues involved in disputes about secession, ethno-national conflict, 'the right of self-determination of peoples,' human rights, and the legitimacy of the international legal system itself. Buchanan advances vigorous criticisms of the central dogmas of international relations and international law, arguing that the international legal system should make justice, not simply peace, among states a primary goal, and rejecting the view that it is permissible for a state to conduct its foreign policies exclusively according to what is in the 'the national interest'. He also shows that the only alternatives are not rigid adherence to existing international law or lawless chaos in which the world's one superpower pursues its own interests without constraints. This book not only criticizes the existing international legal order, but also offers morally defensible and practicable principles for reforming it. Justice, Legitimacy, and Self-Determination will find a broad readership in political science, international law, and political philosophy. Oxford Political Theory presents the best new work in political theory. It is intended to be broad in scope, including original contributions to political philosophy and also work in applied political theory. The series contains works of outstanding quality with no restrictions as to approach or subject matter. Series Editors: Will Kymlicka, David Miller, and Alan Ryan