In The Shadow Of International Law

Secrecy is a staple of world politics and a pervasive feature of political life. Leaders keep secrets as they conduct sensitive diplomatic missions, convince reluctant publics to throw their support behind costly wars, and collect sensitive intelligence about sworn enemies. In the Shadow of International Law explores one of the most controversial forms of secret statecraft: the use of covert action to change or overthrow foreign regimes. Drawing from a broad range of cases of US-backed regime change during the Cold War, Michael Poznansky develops a legal theory of covert action to explain why leaders sometimes turn to covert action when conducting regime change, rather than using force to accomplish the same objective. He highlights the surprising role international law plays in these decisions and finds that once the nonintervention principle-which proscribes unwanted violations of another state's sovereignty-was codified in international law in the mid-twentieth century, states became more reluctant to pursue overt regime change without proper cause. Further, absent a legal exemption to nonintervention such as a credible self-defense claim or authorization from an international body, states were more likely to pursue regime change covertly and concealing brazen violations of international law. Shining a light on the secret underpinnings of the liberal international order, the conduct of foreign-imposed regime change, and the impact of international law on state behavior, Poznansky speaks to the potential consequences of America abandoning its role as the steward of the postwar order, as well as the promise and peril of promoting new rules and norms in cyberspace.

This book offers a new account of Nauru's imperial history and examines its significance in the history of international law.

"This book investigates one of the most controversial forms of secret statecraft in international politics: the use of covert action to overthrow foreign regimes. The central question it asks is why leaders sometimes turn to the so-called quiet option when conducting regime change rather than using overt means. Whereas existing works prioritize the desire to control escalation or avoid domestic-political constraints to explain this variation, this book highlights the surprising role that international law plays in these decisions. When states cannot locate a legal exemption from the nonintervention principle- the prohibition on unwanted violations of another state's sovereignty, codified in the United Nations Charter and elsewhere-they are more likely to opt for covert action. Concealing brazen violations of nonintervention helps states evade hypocrisy costs and avoid damaging their credibility. These claims are tested against four regime change operations carried out by the United States in Latin America during the Cold War using declassified government documents, interviews with former government officials, and historical accounts. The theory and findings presented in this book expose the secret underpinnings of the liberal international order and speak to longstanding debates about the conduct of foreign-imposed regime change as well as the impact of international law on state behavior. This book also has important policy implications, including what might follow if America abandons its role as the steward of the postwar order as well as the promise and peril of promoting new rules and norms in cyberspace"--

In the Shadow of Vitoria: A History of International Law in Spain (1770-1953) offers the first comprehensive treatment of the intellectual evolution of international law in Spain from the late 18th century to the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War.

This book brings together 18 contributions by authors from different legal systems and backgrounds. They address the political implications of the writing of the history of legal issues ranging from slavery over the use of force and extraterritorial jurisdiction to Eurocentrism.

This book provides a rigorous application of international legal rules governing the proper interpretation of the institutions' mandates.

In this first comprehensive analysis of state organized crime from the perspective of international law, Decoeur discusses how international law can and should be used to tackle state organized crime and argues for the development of international legal mechanisms specifically designed to address this issue.

In this first comprehensive analysis of state organized crime from the perspective of international law, Decoeur discusses how international law can and should be used to tackle state organized crime and argues for the development of international legal mechanisms specifically designed to address this issue.