Document Type
Review
Publication Date
2021
Abstract
David Lefkowitz’s new book Philosophy and International Law: A Critical Introduction (Cambridge University Press, 2020) comes at a critical time in the conversation between international law scholars and practitioners, on the one hand, and philosophers, whether legal, moral, or political, on the other. Until about fifteen years ago, philosophical inquiry related to the international legal order was generally limited to a few issues within political and moral philosophy, notably distributive justice and just war theory. Since that time, an expansion has taken place in two directions. First, political and moral philosophers are writing about other aspects of the global political order, including title to territory, refugees and migration, climate change, international trade, and the proper role of international courts. A small smattering of examples would include Simon Caney 2006, Thomas Christiano 2015, Serena Parekh 2020, and Anna Stilz 2020. As for international rules themselves, some philosophers have made them the target of their inquiry, or integrated them in different ways into moral theories, though others seem to dismiss them as political artifacts or regard them as merely as a vessel into which to deposit their top-down moral theories.
Recommended Citation
Follesdal, Andreas and Steven R. Ratner. "Introducing David Lefkowitz’s Philosophy and International Law." Review of Philosophy and International Law: A Critical Introduction, written by David Lefkowitz. EJIL: Talk! (2021).
Included in
International Law Commons, Law and Philosophy Commons, Legal Writing and Research Commons