When international law works

"When International Law Works stands to change the way states and scholars look at this contentious topic. In this seminal work, Professor Tai-Heng Cheng addresses the current international law debates and transcends them. Working from influential statements on international law by such scholars as Goldsmith, Posner, O'Connell, and Guzman, Cheng presents a new framework that states should consider when they confront an international problem that implicates the often competing interests of both their own communities and the global legal order. Instead of advocating for or against international law as legitimate or binding, as many commentators do, Cheng acknowledges both its shortcomings and benefits while presenting a practical means of deciding whether compliance in a given circumstance is beneficial, moral, or necessary. To demonstrate how his new proposal for approaching international law would work in a real crisis, Cheng provides numerous case studies from contemporary history that test his theory. Ranging topically from the current global economic crisis to the West's war on jihadist terrorism, these detailed and demonstrative case studies set this book apart from similar wor