Introduction - Ruptures in International Law

Extract

The papers gathered under this special issue draw on presentations from the International Legal Theory Workshop under the auspices of the 4th Conference of the European Society of International Law, which was held at Cambridge University in September 2010. The essays cover some key developments in international law since the fall of the Berlin Wall. In the pages that follow, you will find an examination of the rise of the notion of ‘harmonious society’ in China as well as an insightful analysis of how this concept can influence international law; a detailed study of the regime of responsibility of international organizations that has gained momentum in the wake of the proliferation of international organization since 1989; a proposal for a fiduciary theory of international human rights, conceived as an alternative model to post-9/11, interest-balancing approaches in the field of national security law; and a reflection on the endurance of the notion of rogue states and state-criminalizing approaches to international relations, beyond the confines of the Bush doctrine. These essays are started off by two papers that address, from different angles, the current state of theorizing of international law.