The case against international cooperation

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Ian Hurd
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
International Law ◽  
International Cooperation ◽  
Global Governance ◽  
International Institutions ◽  
Policy Recommendations ◽  
Political Methodology ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Governmental Cooperation

Abstract The idea that international law and institutions represent cooperative means for resolving inter-state disputes is so common as to be almost taken for granted in International Relations scholarship. Global-governance scholars often use the terms international law and cooperation interchangeably and treat legalization as a subset of the broader category of inter-governmental cooperation. This paper highlights the methodological and substantive problems that follow from equating ‘global governance’ with ‘international cooperation’ and suggests an alternative. The traditional model applies liberal political theory to the study of international institutions and interprets global governance as the realization of shared interests. It deflects research away from questions about trade-offs and winners or losers. In place of cooperation theory, I outline an overtly political methodology that assumes that governance – global or otherwise – necessarily favors some interests over others. In scholarship, the difference is evident in research methods, normative interpretation, and policy recommendations, as research is reoriented toward understanding how international institutions redistribute inequalities of wealth and power.

Feminist Dialogues on International Law

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gina Heathcote
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Global Governance ◽  
International Institutions ◽  
Law Reform ◽  
Black British ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

Reflecting on recent gender law reform within international law, this book examines the nature of feminist interventions to consider what the next phase of feminist approaches to international law might include. To undertake analysis of existing gender law reform and future gender law reform, the book engages critical legal inquiries on international law on the foundations of international law. At the same time, the text looks beyond mainstream feminist accounts to consider the contributions, and tensions, across a broader range of feminist methodologies than has been adapted and incorporated into gender law reform including transnational and postcolonial feminisms. The text therefore develops dialogues across feminist approaches, beyond dominant Western liberal, radical, and cultural feminisms, to analyse the rise of expertise and the impact of fragmentation on global governance, to study sovereignty and international institutions, and to reflect on the construction of authority within international law. The book concludes that through feminist dialogues that incorporate intersectionality, and thus feminist dialogues with queer, crip, and race theories, that reflect on the politics of listening and which are actively attentive to the conditions of privilege from which dominant feminist approaches are articulated, opportunity for feminist dialogues to shape feminist futures on international law emerge. The book begins this process through analysis of the conditions in which the author speaks and the role histories of colonialism play out to define her own privilege, thus requiring attention to indigenous feminisms and, in the UK, the important interventions of Black British feminisms.

Diplomatic Affairs and International Law, 1913

1914 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-49
Author(s):  
Alfred L. P. Dennis
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
International Law ◽  
International Cooperation ◽  
Economic Loss ◽  
Panama Canal ◽  
Military Operations ◽  
Political Leaders ◽  
The Past ◽  
True Value

War has marked the year 1913; and charges and countercharges as to alleged atrocities by belligerents have been rife. Treaties were drawn to be promptly torn up; and solemn declarations of intention and policy often proved futile. The existence of internal disorder and the outbreak of domestic revolutions in several countries have also exerted disturbing influences on international relations. The result was economic loss and diplomatic tension even well beyond the field of military operations. And these conditions have led to renewed activity in the struggle for concessions and investment in renascent communities. Racial and religious sentiments have also aroused bitter feeling; while political leaders in several countries compel renewed consideration of the weight of individuals in the determination of the world's affairs.In large part the problems of 1913 were historic; but in part they were affected by apparently impending changes which we cannot as yet define. Thus the influence of socialism and of various forms of radical thought on international relations is a factor. The adoption of oil as a naval fuel, the opening of the Panama Canal, the plans for administrative reorganization of Turkey, and its capitalistic development, the renewed debate as to the Monroe doctrine, and the problem of China are all matters whose future significance scarcely concern us here; but their influence in the past year has been unquestionably great. We cannot estimate as yet the true value of many recommendations touching various fields of international coöperation; and the value of delay in international action still remains in dispute. So on the whole the year 1913 has apparently been the year of the cynic.

scholarly journals Book Review: Gridlock: Why Global Cooperation is Failing When We Need It Most. Cambridge: Polity Press, 2013.

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 694-699
Author(s):  
Oliver Stuenkel
Keyword(s):  
International Cooperation ◽  
Global Governance ◽  
International Institutions ◽  
Economic Linkages

In Gridlock, Thomas Hale, David Held and Kevin Young argue that the previous successes of international cooperation, by facilitating peace and fostering economic linkages, have deepened interdependence to the point where international cooperation is now more difficult. That suggests that global governance successfully dealt with problems it was initially designed to address, but failed to address problems which have emerged from their very existence. Put differently, interdependence not only creates a demand for international institutions, but effective international institutions also create a structure that, in turn, generates an even stronger interdependence.DOI: 10.20424/2237-7743/bjir.v4n3p694-699

International Cooperation Theory and International Institutions

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xinyuan Dai ◽  
Duncan Snidal ◽  
Michael Sampson
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Rational Choice ◽  
International Cooperation ◽  
21St Century ◽  
International Institutions ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The Past ◽  
Game Theoretic

The study of international cooperation has emerged and evolved over the past few decades as a cornerstone of international relations research. The strategy here for reviewing such a large literature is to focus primarily on the rational choice and game theoretic approaches that instigated it and have subsequently guided its advance. Without these theoretical efforts, the study of international cooperation could not have made nearly as much progress—and it certainly would not have taken the form it does in the 21st century. Through this lens, we can identify major themes in this literature and highlight key challenges for future research

Evading international law: How agents comply with the letter of the law but violate its purpose

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 857-883 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zoltán I. Búzás
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
International Law ◽  
Legal Theory ◽  
Policy Recommendations ◽  
Bad Faith ◽  
Interesting Phenomenon ◽  
It Impacts ◽  
Original Case ◽  
The Law ◽  
Nuanced Understanding

Despite the widespread nature of evasion (bad-faith compliance), this interesting phenomenon is under-studied in International Relations. Even the most sophisticated typologies of compliance and rule following overlook evasion. This is problematic because evasion is essentially a false positive that looks like genuine compliance but can have the effect of violation. Drawing on purposivist legal theory, this article offers an in-depth discussion of evasion. It articulates what evasion is, why it occurs, how it relates to designed flexibility, and how it impacts accountability. Evasion entails intentional compliance with the letter of the law but violation of the purpose of the law in order to minimize inconvenient obligations in an arguably legal fashion. Three original case studies illustrate the empirical purchase and generalizability of evasion in International Relations. Evasion contributes a more nuanced understanding of compliance, cautions that legality sometimes hinders accountability, and offers policy recommendations to counter undesirable evasion. The article concludes with promising directions for a research program on evasion.

scholarly journals The global governance problem in the modern Western academic literature: the main approaches and concepts

2020 ◽  
pp. 65-77
Author(s):  
Andrei Andreevich Kovalev ◽  
Ekaterina Yur'evna Knyazeva
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
International Relations ◽  
International Law ◽  
Global Governance ◽  
Legal Aspect ◽  
Use Of Force ◽  
Legal Principles ◽  
Academic Literature ◽  
Modern Age ◽  
The World

The global governance theories assessment is among the poorly studied problems in Russian political science, though its topicality in the modern age of civilizational confrontation is beyond dispute. Primarily, the necessity to study the key global governance concepts is determined by the need for establishing effective relations with the Western and the Eastern countries. The purpose of the article is to analyze and estimate the main foreig global governance concepts, and it is achieved by solving the following tasks: 1) to consider the main definitions of global governance; 2) to detect the problem of legitimacy in international relations; 3) to consider the legitimacy of global governance. The authors give special attention to the underestimated source of global governance legitimacy - the liberal legal principles. As a political program, global governance is understood as a political and legal aspect of globalization. In recent decades, global governance theories have been adopted as a research program in the field of social sciences. Within the (neo)liberal institutionalism tradition, particularly, the interdependence theories, global governance approaches consider the consolidation of international cooperation and the transformation of the global system in which the anarchical system of sovereign national states is considered as a multilayer system including nongovernmental subjects. The researchers try to model power as “governance” without subjects which  are formally justified and entitled with the use of force monopoly. The future of global governance is connected with effective international law able to timely settle the arising disputes and deter possible aggression which, in the age of civilizational confrontation, can lead to the last war in human history. The effectiveness of global governance depends on what globalization direction the leading civilizations will choose: the force-based American way, or the way taking into account the interests of most peoples of the world.   

scholarly journals The Urbanization of International Law and International Relations: The Rising Soft Power of Cities in Global Governance

2020 ◽  
pp. 227
Author(s):  
Chrystie Swiney
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
International Law ◽  
Global Governance ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
Environmental Law ◽  
World Order ◽  
Legal Literature ◽  
New Concepts ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
Global Law

This article examines the rising influence of cities in global governance and on international law, despite the existing international legal and political framework, which is designed to exclude them. It explores the various strategies and tools utilized by city leaders to leapfrog over their national counterparts in order to autonomously access the international policymaking and law-making world. These include (1) coalescing together to form large networks, which engage in city or “glocal” diplomacy; (2) allying with well-connected and well-resourced international organizations; (3) gaining inclusion in UN multilateral agendas; (4) mirroring state-based coalitions and their high-profile events; (5) harnessing the language of international law (especially international human rights and environmental law) to advance agendas at odds with their national counterparts; and (6) adopting resolutions, declarations, and voluntarily self-policed commitments––what I refer to as “global law.” The paper argues that the existing concepts and frameworks that we use to explain the international political and legal world order––concepts that inhere in international legal literature and in international relations theory––are ill-equipped to conceptualize the changing status of cities, as well as other sub-national actors, in global politics. The article concludes by offering a new framework, with new concepts and updated verbiage, for understanding the changing relationship of cities to both international law and international relations, a framework I refer to as the “Urbanization of Global Relations.”

scholarly journals Conflict and Cooperation in International Relations: Theoretical Contributions of the Debate between New Realism and Neoliberalism

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 659-670
Author(s):  
Omran Ali
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
International Cooperation ◽  
International Institutions ◽  
Main Issue ◽  
Power Politics ◽  
New Realism ◽  
Conflict And Cooperation

This paper deals with the debate between neo-realism and neo-liberalism within the field of international relations and highlights the most important propositions of the two theories, especially regarding their views on the structure of international relations and whether it is characterized by anarchy and conflict or cooperation. The study of conflict and cooperation in international relations has been one of the main tasks of research and analysis for theorists and researchers of international relations, and this conflict-cooperation nexus has become the main issue in the debate between the two prevailing theories in international relations. Neorealism and neoliberalism are the most influential theories on international relations, and the debate between them has considered one of the most important one in the field of international relations. This research seeks to clarify and explain the theoretical contributions of each of the two theories regarding conflict and cooperation in international relations, and the extent to which neoliberal assumptions, especially with regard to the role of international institutions in increasing international cooperation, has contributed to reducing the dominance of the realistic vision in international relations, especially with regard to conflict and anarchy. It argues that the debate between neorealism and neoliberalism did not significantly contribute to developing the theory of international relations, as this debate did not contribute significantly to reducing the dominance of power politics in international relations and solving the international problems resulting from it.

scholarly journals Pacifismo jurídico = Legal pacifism

2019 ◽  
pp. 220
Author(s):  
José Antonio García Sáez
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
International Law ◽  
International Institutions ◽  
International Order ◽  
War And Peace ◽  
Central Division ◽  
Sustainable Peace ◽  
Palabras Clave ◽  
History Of ◽  
Outlawry Of War

Resumen: Guerra y paz pueden ser pensadas como dos momentos que están destinados a sucederse alternativamente dentro la historia de las relaciones internacionales. Pero también cabe la esperanza de que a través del desarrollo de un orden internacional fuerte pueda conseguirse una paz perpetua o, cuanto menos, duradera. A ese fin han destinado sus esfuerzos numerosos juristas cuyas obras pueden ser enmarcadas dentro del pacifismo jurídico. En este texto se tratará de ordenar los rasgos característicos de esta posición, tomando como división central aquella que separa los autores que han apostado por la prohibición de la guerra de aquellos que han apostado por su progresiva superación. Ambas posiciones compartirán su preferencia por el fortalecimiento de las instituciones internacionales, además de una cierta vocación cosmopolita. Palabras clave: Pacifismo jurídico, guerra, paz, filosofía del derecho internacional. Abstract: War and peace could be thought as two moments bound to succeed each other within the history of international relations. But there is also room for the hope in a perpetual or, at least, sustainable peace thorough the development of a strong international order. Several legal scholars, whose works can be labelled inside the legal pacifism, have devoted their efforts to that end. This paper tries to put some order about the main features of legal pacifism. It takes as a central division their position towards war: some legal pacifists have defended the total outlawry of war, while others have considered preferable a progressive overcoming of war. Both positions will share the preference for strength the international institutions, together with a certain degree of cosmopolitan commitment. Keywords: legal pacifism, war, peace, philosophy of international law.

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