Browse Hierarchy POL259: Politics of International Law

States spend a great deal of time and effort justifying their actions with law. Yet international relations scholars have often doubted international law's ability to shape state behaviour. This course examines this by paradox by introducing students to the major debates about the politics of international law. These perspectives will be applied to the history of international organisations and (legal) order since 1919, including the development of collective security and humanitarianism at the League of Nations and United Nations.