Is International Law Progressive?

29 Pages Posted: 2 Oct 2024

Date Written: October 02, 2024

Abstract

The rise of authoritarian populism in recent years has raised the question of whether international law can be co-opted for authoritarian purposes. Tom Ginsburg has recently argued for the rise of what he calls 'authoritarian international law' which, he claims, is undermining the hitherto progressive ethos of international law since the foundation of the United Nations. This paper critically examines this category of authoritarian international law. Adopting a Dworkinian interpretive methodology to the question of the normativity of international law, it argues that authoritarianism is incompatible with the normativity of international law as currently understood. This is the case, the paper concludes, notwithstanding the types of practices to which Ginsburg refers to support his Authoritarian International Law thesis.

Keywords: Authoritarianism, International Law, Interpretivism, Normativity, Dworkin

Suggested Citation

Mac Amhlaigh, Cormac S., Is International Law Progressive? (October 02, 2024). Edinburgh School of Law Research Paper No. 2024/09, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4974549 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4974549

Cormac S. Mac Amhlaigh (Contact Author)

University of Edinburgh - School of Law ( email )

Old College
South Bridge
Edinburgh, EH8 9YL
United Kingdom

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