The Spirit of International Law
David J. Bederman
As our society becomes more global, international law is taking on an  increasingly significant role, not only in world politics but also in  the affairs of a striking array of individuals, enterprises, and  institutions. In this comprehensive study, David J. Bederman focuses on  international law as a current, practical means of regulating and  influencing international behavior. He shows it to be a system unique in  its nature—nonterritorial but secular, cosmopolitan, and traditional.  Part intellectual history and part contemporary review, The Spirit of  International Law ranges across the series of cyclical processes  and dialectics in international law over the past five centuries to  assess its current prospects as a viable legal system. After  addressing philosophical concerns about authority and obligation in  international law, Bederman considers the sources and methods of  international lawmaking. Topics include key legal actors in the  international system, the permissible scope of international legal  regulation (what Bederman calls the "subjects and objects" of the  discipline), the primitive character of international law and its  ability to remain coherent, and the essential values of international  legal order (and possible tensions among those values). Bederman then  measures the extent to which the rules of international law are formal  or pragmatic, conservative or progressive, and ignored or enforced.  Finally, he reflects on whether cynicism or enthusiasm is the proper  attitude to govern our thoughts on international law. Throughout  his study, Bederman highlights some of the canonical documents of  international law: those arising from famous cases (decisions by both  international and domestic tribunals), significant treaties, important  diplomatic correspondence, and serious international incidents.  Distilling the essence of international law, this volume is a lively,  broad, thematic summation of its structure, characteristics, and main  features.