Handbook

International law plays an integral role in the system of international politics: the rules-based global order. This course challenges students to analyse that role and the major interpretations of that role in an era when rising and revisionist powers may be re-shaping the rules-based order.

The content covered includes topics such as: the core principles and concepts of international law; international law and the use of military force; the role of multilateral treaties in global governance; distinguishing a political from a legal interpretation of a multilateral treaty; the operation of international courts and tribunals; and the relationship between foreign policy formulation and international law with an emphasis on current case studies such as the shifting balance of power in the South China Sea.

This is an International Relations course focusing on the interaction of law and politics. It is not a Law course so no prior knowledge of international law is required.