The Politics of International Law

(Paperback)

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Today international law is everywhere. Wars are fought and opposed in its name. It is invoked to claim rights and to challenge them, to indict or support political leaders, to distribute resources and to expand or limit the powers of domestic and international institutions. International law is part of the way political (and economic) power is used, critiqued, and sometimes limited. Despite its claim for neutrality and impartiality, it is implicit in what is just, as well as what is unjust in the world. To understand its operation requires shedding its ideological spell and examining it with a cold eye. Who are its winners, and who are its losers How - if at all - can it be used to make a better or a less unjust world In this collection of essays Professor Martti Koskenniemi, a well-known practitioner and a leading theorist and historian of international law, examines the recent debates on humanitarian intervention, collective security, protection of human rights and the 'fight against impunity' and reflects on the use of the professional techniques of international law to intervene politically. The essays both illustrate and expand his influential theory of the role of international law in international politics. The book is prefaced with an introduction by Professor Emmanuelle Jouannet (Sorbonne Law School), which locates the texts in the overall thought and work of Martti Koskenniemi.

Reviews

The book's reflection upon the approaches, styles, and methods of this age and the past in the field of international law is both powerful and provocative, and the synthetic messages emanating from the myriad of strains of thought are of great force of persuasion. Its intensity in analysis and critique is remarkable, and the author does not mince his words. Given the book's distinct narrative style and the number of references to literature, it should be a recommended reading for postgraduate students and scholars in international law and international relations alike. The author's experience may be quite singular, but the viewpoint he possesses and reveals in the book is helpful to any that aspires to study and work in this field. -- Bing Bing Jia * German Yearbook of International Law, Volume 53 *

Author Bio

Martti Koskenniemi is Professor of International Law at the University of Helsinki, Hauser Global Visiting Professor of Law at New York University and Director of the Erik Castren Institute of International Law and Human Rights.