The Future of International Law

In Diana Ayton-Shenker (ed.), The New Global Agenda, Lahnham: Rowman & Littlefield (2018). Chapter 2 (25-42).

iCourts Working Paper Series, No. 101, 2017

Northwestern Public Law Research Paper No. 17-18

19 Pages Posted: 10 Aug 2017 Last revised: 7 Mar 2019

See all articles by Karen J. Alter

Karen J. Alter

Northwestern University - Department of Political Science; University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Law - iCourts Center of Excellence

Date Written: August 8, 2017

Abstract

This essay addresses three related questions about international law’s future: Will the world continue to seek multilateral solutions and promote global integration? What is the future of highly contested areas of international law, such as the promotion of human rights and the accountability of states and individuals for atrocities? And will issues that are as yet unregulated or poorly guided by international law – cyber-security, the use of drones, and global climate change – present new frontiers for international law? These questions provide different ways to investigate whether the international liberal order – the political a commitment to multilateralism, human rights and the rule of law – can survive if America turns its back on these values. Invoking John Ruggie’s argument that international regimes fuse power and social purpose, I argue that international law can survive the removal of US support, but it cannot survive if the social purpose of the international liberal order loses support. Based on an analysis of international law’s history, and drawing on numerous social science studies, I argue that the policy positions of President Trump are a neither a major break from past US politics, nor is the Trump Administration likely to meaningfully affect existing or future prospects for international law. The larger threat would be a decline in popular support for the rule of law, which is why global populism more than the policy positions of the current US Administration present the greater threat to the international liberal order.

Keywords: International Law, Mass Atrocities, Cybersecurity, Paris Climate Accord, Human Rights, US Foreign Policy, Law of the Seas, International Liberal Order, Drones

Suggested Citation

Alter, Karen J., The Future of International Law (August 8, 2017). In Diana Ayton-Shenker (ed.), The New Global Agenda, Lahnham: Rowman & Littlefield (2018). Chapter 2 (25-42)., iCourts Working Paper Series, No. 101, 2017, Northwestern Public Law Research Paper No. 17-18, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3015177

Karen J. Alter (Contact Author)

Northwestern University - Department of Political Science ( email )

601 University Place
Evanston, IL 60208
United States

University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Law - iCourts Center of Excellence ( email )

Karen Blixens Plads 16
Copenhagen, DK-2300
Denmark

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