International Law Theories

Abstract

Abstract This book offers an account of different theoretical approaches to international law and it extends to the reader an invitation to engage with legal thinking. Most international lawyers do not reflect on theories of international law, as they are mostly trained to practice law, and not to think about it. One rarely finds courses on international legal theories in law school curricula. More generally, epistemology is a neglected issue in this field. Consequently, researchers and students are not encouraged to explore different approaches to thinking about international law. The main aim of this book is to provide interested scholars, graduates, and postgraduate students in international law and other disciplines with an introduction to various international legal theories, their genealogies, and critique. The approach of the book is discursive and analytical, rather than merely descriptive. It is accessible in terms of both style and content. Readers are encouraged to sharpen their sensibility 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 spur students’ and scholars’ intellectual curiosity and to cause them to reflect more generally on how knowledge is formed and put to use in the scientific field of international law.

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