Law Commons^™

Hearts And Minds And Laws: Legal Compliance And Diplomatic Persuasion, Christopher J. Borgen

Faculty Publications

This Essay considers the role of international legal argument in the war on terror and, in particular, in the attempts to justify the use of military force. Part I looks at challenges posed by the evolution of military conflict and how this affects diplomacy. In particular, I argue that a reputation for honoring one's treaty commitments and for legality, more generally, is an important part of fostering cooperation and undercutting the support of our adversaries. Part II focuses on how the Bush Administration moved between hostility to international law and attempts to rewrite the rules of international law concerning the …

The Language Of Law And The Practice Of Politics: Great Powers, Small States, And The Rhetoric Of Self-Determination In The Cases Of Kosovo And South Ossetia, Christopher J. Borgen

Faculty Publications

If international law is all but irrelevant to international relations why do states spend so much time and effort justifying their actions under international law? The immediate reaction by many is to dismiss this as "cheap talk," a rhetorical fig leaf or simple bluster of little consequence. This Article aims to debunk the notion that the rhetoric surrounding international law is of little consequence. Rather than mere cheap talk, the rhetoric of international law is at times used by great powers (and other states) in an attempt to gain tactical, if not strategic, advantages.

This Article seeks to elucidate what …