Russian International Law and Indeterminacy: Cold War and Post-Soviet Dynamics

Abstract

In this chapter, I want to explore a paradox in the development of international legal theory at the height of the Cold War in the USSR and in its aftermath. Specifically, I want to analyze how — at the start of the Cold War (particularly the years 1953-1960) — leading Soviet international law theorists seemingly espoused a positivist framework for the preeminence of international law over international politics, while simultaneously developing a set of indeterminate international legal theories and doctrines. Similarly, contemporary Russian approaches to international law and international institutions evoke ‘exceptionalist’ rhetoric; yet, surprisingly, both theory and practice seem rooted in positivist conceptions. The main thesis here is that neither period represents a unique or paradoxical departure from mainstream international law. Rather, Soviet and contemporary Russian practice illustrate the indeterminate nature of international law at the high point of mid-twentieth century positivism, and that continuing legacy today.

Keywords: international legal theory, international legal history, international law, Russian law