Law Beyond the State: Dynamic Coordination, State Consent, and Binding International Law

International law is essential for peace and justice, but states have been skeptical about its value and compatibility with state sovereignty. Carmen Pavel argues that the same reasons that support the development of law at the domestic level also support the development of law at the international level, such as cultivating peace, protecting individual rights, facilitating complex forms of cooperation, and resolving collective action problems. She shows that international law encourages states to protect individual rights and provides a forum for communication, negotiation, and compromise.

Format: Hardback
Length: 200 pages
Publication date: 26 August 2021
Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc

Despite growing skepticism about the value of international law and its compatibility with state sovereignty, states should improve and strengthen international law because it makes a critical contribution to an international order characterized by peace and justice. In recent years, international agreements and institutions have become particularly contentious. China is refusing to abide by the decision of an international arbitration decision implementing UNCLOS rules in the South China Sea, and Donald Trump has withdrawn the US from international agreements including the Paris Agreement on Climate Change of 2015. Such retreats expose widespread ambivalence towards cooperation through international law, and reverse the gains made by long-standing processes of legalization. In Law Beyond the State, Carmen Pavel responds to the ambivalent attitude states have with respect to international law by offering moral and legal reasons for them to improve, strengthen, and further institutionalize its capacity. She argues that the same reasons which support the development of law at the domestic level, namely the cultivation of peace, the protection of individual rights, the facilitation of complex forms of cooperation, and the resolution of collective action problems, also support the development of law at the international level. The argument thus engages in institutional moral reasoning. Pavel shows why it should matter to individuals that their states are part of a rule-governed international order. When states are bound by common rules of behavior, their citizens reap the benefits. International law encourages states to protect individual rights and provides a forum where they can communicate, negotiate, and compromise on their differences in order to protect themselves from outsiders.

Conclusion: In conclusion, the development and enforcement of international law are essential for promoting peace, justice, and cooperation among nations. Despite the challenges and controversies surrounding international law, states should continue to work towards improving and strengthening it. By doing so, they can contribute to a more stable and prosperous global order.

Weight: 482g
Dimension: 164 x 242 x 22 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780197543894