How International Law Works presents a theory of international law, how it operates, and why it works. Though appeals to international law have grown ever more central to international disputes and international relations, there is no well-developed, comprehensive theory of how international law shapes policy outcomes.
Filling a conspicuous gap in the literature on international law, Andrew T. Guzman builds a coherent theory from the ground up and applies it to the foundations of the international legal system. Using tools from across the social sciences Guzman deploys a rational choice methodology to explain how a legal system can succeed in the absence of coercive enforcement. He demonstrates how even rational and selfish states are motivated by concerns about reciprocal non-compliance, retaliation, and reputation to comply with their international legal commitments.
Contradicting the conventional view of the subject among international legal scholars, Guzman argues that the primary sources of international commitment--formal treaties, customary international law, soft law, and even international norms--must be understood as various points on a spectrum of commitment rather than wholly distinct legal structures.
Taking a rigorous and theoretically sound look at international law, How International Law Works provides an in-depth, thoroughgoing guide to the complexities of international law, offers guidance to those managing relations among nations, and helps us to understand when we can look to international law to resolve problems, and when we must accept that we live in an anarchic world in which some issues can be resolved only through politics.
Industry Reviews
"Engaging and enterprising...Guzman presents a highly engaging and compelling theory of the forces behind international law...the book is very readable and offers a valuable perspective to anyone with an interest in international law or politics."--International Law and Politics
"At last! A comprehensive rational choice account of international law that demonstrates why international law does work rather than why it does not. Andrew Guzman demonstrates remarkable mastery of both the international law and the international relations literature, drawing them together in ways that put theoretical and empirical flesh on the bones of more traditional international lawyers' assertions. How International Law Works is an important
contribution to an ongoing debate and is bound to inspire further debates of its own."--Anne-Marie Slaughter, Dean, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, and former
President of the American Society of International Law
"Guzman's lucid account of international law from a rationalist-institutionalist perspective presents his core concepts of reputation, reciprocity and retaliation in inter-state relations with a clarity that is ideal for students of law and political science, while making excellent use of his expertise in international law and economics to generate research agendas and insights into existing practices and legal doctrines that will enrich specialist
international law scholarship even among those who take entirely different approaches to the field."--Benedict Kingsbury, Director, Institute for International Law and Justice NYU Law School
"This is a crisply written, theoretically rigorous, and lucid argument about why international treaties, rules of custom, and even 'soft law' are more than forms of 'cheap talk.' Guzman tells us, in the modern language of game theory, why policymakers care when they give their 'word.'"--Jose E. Alvarez, Hamilton Fish Professor of International Law & Diplomacy Columbia Law School
