Applies the New Haven School approach explaining discrete aspects of the global decision process and their effects on the content of international legal rules. Provides an in-depth treatment of the key features of the New Haven School of international law. References both classic historical examples and contemporary events to illustrate international legal processes and principles. Focuses on important trends in international law, including the movement from a state-centered system to a people-centered one. Contributes to the growth of a world community of human dignity through international law. -- Publishers website.

An Introduction to Contemporary International Law: A Policy-Oriented Perspective introduces the reader to all major aspects of contemporary international law. It applies the highly acclaimed approach developed by the New Haven School of International Law, holding international law as an ongoing process of authoritative decision-making through which the members of the world community identify, clarify, and secure their common interests. Unlike conventional works in international law, this book is organized and structured in terms of the process of decision making in the international arena, and references both classic historical examples and contemporary events to illustrate international legal processes and principles. Using contemporary examples, this Third Edition builds on the previous editions by contextualizing and dramatizing recent events with reference to seven features that characterize the New Haven School approach to international law: participants, perspectives, arenas of decision, bases of power, strategies, outcomes, and effects. This new edition highlights cutting-edge ideas in international law, including the right to self-determination, the evolution of Taiwan statehood, the expanding scope of international concern and the duty of states to protect human rights, the trend towards greater accountability for states and individual decision-makers under international law, and the vital role individual responsibility plays in the emerging field of international criminal law. It offers a new generation the intellectual tools needed to act as responsible citizens in a world community seeking human dignity and human security for all people.

Why U.S. support for international law is so inconsistent

First published in 2002. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

The second edition of International Law in World Politics--thoroughly updated and now including a full chapter on the use of force--introduces the concepts, the rules, and the functioning of international law in a way that is accessible to students of political science. Shirley Scott covers such core topics as the nature of legal argument, the negotiation and implementation of multilateral treaties, and the place of both intergovernmental organizations and nonstate actors in the international legal system. Equally important, she connects the content of laws to current issues and problems, using case studies to bring the subject to life. The result is a rare text that effectively explains the role that international law plays in the changing arena of world politics.

This rich and remarkable volume offers an overview of the most important schools, movements and trends which make up the theoretical landscape of contemporary international law, as well as the works of over 500 authors. It moves beyond generalization and examines how the relevant literature deals with the basic issues of the international legal system, such as international obligations, legitimacy, compliance, unity and universality, the rule of law, human rights, use of force and economics. It offers insights into the addressees (the state, international organizations, individuals and other private persons), and the construction of international law, including law-making, the relationship between norms, and interpretation. Moreover, it widens the discourse by addressing old, yet enduring, as well as new concerns about the functioning of the international legal system, and presents views of non-international lawyers and political scientists regarding that system. It is a valuable analysis for researchers, students, and practitioners.

This new edition provides a critical introduction to the concepts, principles and rules of international law through a consideration of contemporary international events. It examines both the possibilities and limitations of the legal method in resolving international disputes, and notes the actual effects of international law upon international disagreements. Such an approach remains sceptical rather than cynical, and is intended to provide the means by which the role of international law may be evaluated. This entails discussion of the legal quality of international law; the relationship between international law and international relations; the Eurocentricity' of international law; and the connection between political power and the ability to use or abuse (or ignore) international law. The new edition explores the impact of the United States' latest direction in foreign policy (arguably an intensification of pre-existing neo-conservative trends); considers in greater depth the issue of economic self-determination in relation to ex-colonial nations; expands the discussion of jurisdiction to cover immunity from jurisdiction; and covers recent developments at the International Criminal Court. Underlying the book is the assertion that international law is political in content (in the sense of being concerned with the exercise of power) but that it draws much of its effectiveness from its self-portrayal as being apolitical, or at least politically neutral.