The Status of International Law in International Relations Theories

Keeping in mind that International Law and international relations are intertwined in a relationship, this essay elaborates and analyzes the status of International Law in international relations theories. These theories can be grouped into four intellectual movements as follows: Part I constitutes "classical legal thought" which generally believed that power and coercion could become far less prominent in world affairs through the development of International Law. Part II analyzes Realists’ reaction to Classicism. With Fascist aggression in the late 1930s, realism emerged to launch an epistemological, heuristic, and normative attack on classical approach. While realism generally views International Law as a reflection of the interests of the powerful states, and structural realism- at its core- denies that International Law is consequential, realists display a range of views from those who find International Law meaningless to those who find it crucial to understanding state behavior. Part III includes the elements of this reaction; early efforts to use sociology or the social science more broadly, rationalist institutionalism's demonstration that of the liberal theory, usually in conjunction with institutionalism, to show how law affects the behavior state, rulers, groups, and individuals. In Part IV, Constructivism sees interest and identities as intrinsically inseparable from social group and the International Law both reflects and reinforces identities and interests. Finally we understand that any function in international relations is essential for International Law to evolve and function.