Geopolitics and International Law

The term “international law” came into general use in Western languages in the nineteenth century. The new term was meant to emphasize that this would coordinate relations between states. In the late twentieth century, especially after the end of the Cold War, many analysts envisioned a law of global ordering which could constrain states, even in their treatment of their own citizens or of the natural environment within their own borders. New international institutions and newly elaborated legal practices seemed for a time to lend support to this view. But more recent experience suggest states are not so easily constrained merely by what others regard as international law. There is more coordination than ever in state practices regarding communication, transportation, and various aspects of international trade and investment. But sovereign states remain the most powerful actors in international affairs and legal institutions cannot by themselves constrain differing priorities of the most powerful states.