Public International Law

International law regulates global order sort of. It is a field whose lawness is radically different from other types of law; a field whose rapid growth has made its contradictions more, not less, relevant; a field whose marginality makes it instructive for understanding the world order.

This survey course has two parts. The first examines the concepts and structures that make up the field its history, sources (such as treaty and customary law), relevant actors (like states and organizations), and interpretative methods. In the second half, the course explores how law addresses specific problems, such as use of force, environmental concerns, and regulation of the seas.

Throughout, the course considers the nature and function of law in the flat, anarchic environment of the inter-state system. The course includes lots of cases, but also perspectives taken from other disciplines, such as international relations, history, and political philosophy, to enrich students understanding of a body of rules that is both essential to world order and on the frontiers of what we understand as law.

Exam is take-home.