The Power of Legality
Practices of International Law and their Politics

Legality today commands substantial currency in world affairs, and this volume examines the struggle over its meaning in diverse practices.

Nikolas M. Rajkovic (Edited by), Tanja E. Aalberts (Edited by), Thomas Gammeltoft-Hansen (Edited by)

9781316508435, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 13 December 2018

406 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.2 cm, 0.55 kg

From an airstrip in Saudi Arabia, the CIA launches drones to 'legally' kill Al-Qaida leaders in Yemen. On the North Pole, Russia plants a flag on the seabed to extend legal claim over resources. In Brussels, the European Commission unveils its Emissions Trading System, extending environmental jurisdiction globally over foreign airlines. And at Frankfurt Airport, a father returning from holiday is detained because his name appears on a security list. Today, legality commands substantial currency in world affairs, yet growing reference to international legality has not marked the end of strategic struggles in global affairs. Rather, it has shifted the field and manner of play for a plurality of actors who now use, influence and contest the way that law's rule is applied to address global problems. Drawing on a range of case studies, this volume explores the various meanings and implications of legality across scholarly, institutional and policy settings.

Table of figures
Foreword Martti Koskenniemi
Acknowledgements
1. Introduction: legality, interdisciplinarity, and the study of practices Nikolas M. Rajkovic, Tanja E. Aalberts and Thomas Gammeltoft-Hansen
Part I. Scholarly Struggles over Legality: 2. Re-thinking inter-disciplinarity by re-reading Hume Friedrich Kratochwil
3. Tainted love: the struggle over legality in international relations and international law Anna Leander and Wouter Werner
4. The power of legality, legitimacy and the (im)possibility of interdisciplinary research Filipe dos Reis and Oliver Kessler
5. Moving while standing still: law, politics and hard cases Ciaran Burke
Part II. Legality and Institutional Practices: 6. International law, Kelsen and the aberrant revolution: excavating the politics and practices of revolutionary legality in Rhodesia and beyond Vidya Kumar
7. Juris Dicere: custom as a matrix, custom as a norm, the role of judges and (their) ideology in custom making Vassilis P. Tzevelekos
8. Multiple legalities and international criminal tribunals: juridical versus political legality Bas Schotel
9. Palestine's quest for statehood and the practice of the United Nations Cathleen H. Powell and Jonathan Strug
Part III. Legality and Policy Practices: 10. Regulatory legality: extraterritorial rule across domestic and international arenas Michael L. Buenger
11. Legality and lawfare in regime implementation Surabhi Ranganathan
12. Whose legality? Rule of law missions and the case of Kosovo Maj Grasten
Epilogue: re-thinking legality and practices of interdisciplinarity
13. Perspectives on the perils, promise, politics - and practice - of interdisciplinarity Jeffrey L. Dunoff.

Subject Areas: Law: study & revision guides [LR], Laws of Specific jurisdictions [LN], Public international law [LBB], International law [LB], Jurisprudence & general issues [LA]