Non-State Actors in the Middle East: A Challenge for Rationalist Legal Theory
46 Cornell International Law Journal 51 (2013)
Valparaiso University Legal Studies Research Paper No. 12-12
34 Pages Posted: 28 Aug 2012 Last revised: 4 Aug 2016
Abstract
Recently, international legal scholars have developed models for understanding state behavior based on rational choice theory. This Article uses recent events in the Middle East to highlight the difficulties that the rationalist model faces when confronting the baffling complexities associated with multiple non-state actors that have been transforming international law and politics in the contemporary Middle East. Part I introduces the basic elements of the rationalist model, as well as leading criticisms of the model that are more fully developed in the next two sections. Part II tests rationalist assumptions in the context of the Israeli incursion into Gaza and the Libyan revolt against Colonel Ghaddafi’s government. In a brief concluding section, the Article explores the usefulness of normative models as descriptive tools for understanding the relevance of international law as a factor in the decision-making processes of both state and non-state actors.
Keywords: Rationalism, Libya, Palestine, Middle East, international relations, rational choice theory, Arab Spring, non-state actors
JEL Classification: K33, K42
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation