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Good Medicine for Bad Politics? New Realism in the International Rule of Law

When an international crisis erupts it is common to hear experts say that the situation would be improved if all parties uphold their international legal obligations. From the Syrian war to Burma's massacres to Guantánamo torture, faithful compliance with the law of nations is often prescribed as part of the cure for policies gone wrong. My work is motivated by curiosity about how international law comes to be seen as a universal good and its effects when invoked as “good medicine for bad policies.” Compliance with international law often appears in policy and scholarly analyses like a magical machine that transforms hot disagreements about what should be done into cool solutions that serve the interests of everyone. My work examines this idea with a degree of skepticism and holds it up against some empirical cases. I suggest a return to pragmatic realism regarding the politics behind the international rule of law.