Theories of International Law

This course is intended for those interested in sophisticated international legal argumentation or those interested in scholarly debates over international law. The seminar will explore competing theories of international law, including approaches based on natural law, positivism, the Grotian tradition, realism, rational institutionalism, liberalism, social construction, and critical theory. We will read and discuss books and articles by leading international law theorists, consider how international legal arguments would be made through each theoretical perspective, and evaluate each approach according to several criteria, including explanatory power, parsimony, falsifiability, and prescriptive implications.