The essays and commentaries in this collection were presented at a Con ference on Problems of International Law in the Western Hemisphere, the Second Conference on Problems of Regional International Law under the joint sponsorship of the American Society of International Law and the Graduate Faculty of the New School for Social Research, April 2 & 3, 1971. Contributors have been given the opportunity to revise their papers since their original presentation. The editors acknowledge with gratitude the important contributions made by the Chairmen of the respective panels, namely, Professor Louis Henkin of Columbia Law School (Water Resources Panel), Professor Richard B. Lillich of the University of Virginia Law School (panel on Intervention) and Dr. Egon Schwelb of the United Nations (Human Rights Panel). The assistance of the Graduate Faculty of the New School for Social Research in the organization of the conference and that of the New York University Center for International Studies in the editing of these papers have been indispensable. We wish to make particular mention of the unstinting secretarial support of Ms. Donna Welensky and Ms. Judith Chazen. Certain problems would have been insuperable without the critical (in all senses) aid provided by Lyn Rodley. . The descriptions of contributors are those that obtained at the time of the conference. Since then, Professors Rovine and Rodley have moved to new pastures, the former to the Department of State's Office of the Legal Adviser, the latter to Amnesty International, while Dr.

This study tackles a controversial topic in international law and contemporary international relations, namely, the legality of intervention by a major power against weaker states within the same geographic region. Specifically, the author examines the practice of United States intervention in the Western Hemisphere, with particular emphasis on the relationship between the United States and its Latin American and Caribbean neighbours. The work highlights six cases of U.S. intervention-Guatemala in 1954, Cuba in 1961, the Dominican Republic in 1965, Grenada in 1983, Nicaragua in 1985, and Panama in 1989. In each case the United States arguably violated international law and the sovereignty of the states involved but claimed it had a right to intervene to protect the lives of its nationals or to defend its national security against an external threat. These cases amply demonstrate the conflict between international law on the one hand, and regional norms, power politics, and political doctrines on the other. They also illustrate how international law can be manipulated to advance the foreign policy goals of a major power. The author adopts an interdisciplinary approach, combining international law, political doctrines, international relations theory and historical antecedents, to provide a better understanding of the relationship between a major power and its subordinates and of the relevance of international law in such a relationship.

The essays and commentaries in this collection were presented at a Con ference on Problems of International Law in the Western Hemisphere, the Second Conference on Problems of Regional International Law under the joint sponsorship of the American Society of International Law and the Graduate Faculty of the New School for Social Research, April 2 & 3, 1971. Contributors have been given the opportunity to revise their papers since their original presentation. The editors acknowledge with gratitude the important contributions made by the Chairmen of the respective panels, namely, Professor Louis Henkin of Columbia Law School (Water Resources Panel), Professor Richard B. Lillich of the University of Virginia Law School (panel on Intervention) and Dr. Egon Schwelb of the United Nations (Human Rights Panel). The assistance of the Graduate Faculty of the New School for Social Research in the organization of the conference and that of the New York University Center for International Studies in the editing of these papers have been indispensable. We wish to make particular mention of the unstinting secretarial support of Ms. Donna Welensky and Ms. Judith Chazen. Certain problems would have been insuperable without the critical (in all senses) aid provided by Lyn Rodley. . The descriptions of contributors are those that obtained at the time of the conference. Since then, Professors Rovine and Rodley have moved to new pastures, the former to the Department of State's Office of the Legal Adviser, the latter to Amnesty International, while Dr.

International law has played a crucial role in the construction of imperial projects. Yet within the growing field of studies about the history of international law and empire, scholars have seldom considered this complicit relationship in the Americas. The Hidden History of International Law in the Americas offers the first exploration of the deployment of international law for the legitimization of U.S. ascendancy as an informal empire in Latin America. This book explores the intellectual history of a distinctive idea of American international law in the Americas, focusing principally on the evolution of the American Institute of International Law (AIIL). This organization was created by U.S. and Chilean jurists James Brown Scott and Alejandro Alvarez in Washington D.C. for the construction, development, and codification of international law across the Americas. Juan Pablo Scarfi examines the debates sparked by the AIIL over American international law, intervention and non-intervention, Pan-Americanism, the codification of public and private international law and the nature and scope of the Monroe Doctrine, as well as the international legal thought of Scott, Alvarez, and a number of jurists, diplomats, politicians, and intellectuals from the Americas. Professor Scarfi argues that American international law, as advanced primarily by the AIIL, was driven by a U.S.-led imperial aspiration of civilizing Latin America through the promotion of the international rule of law. By providing a convincing critical account of the legal and historical foundations of the Inter-American System, this book will stimulate debate among international lawyers, IR scholars, political scientists, and intellectual historians.

International law has played a crucial role in the construction of imperial projects. Yet within the growing field of studies about the history of international law and empire, scholars have seldom considered this complicit relationship in the Americas. The Hidden History of International Law in the Americas offers the first exploration of the deployment of international law for the legitimization of U.S. ascendancy as an informal empire in Latin America. This book explores the intellectual history of a distinctive idea of American international law in the Americas, focusing principally on the evolution of the American Institute of International Law (AIIL). This organization was created by U.S. and Chilean jurists James Brown Scott and Alejandro Alvarez in Washington D.C. for the construction, development, and codification of international law across the Americas. Juan Pablo Scarfi examines the debates sparked by the AIIL over American international law, intervention and non-intervention, Pan-Americanism, the codification of public and private international law and the nature and scope of the Monroe Doctrine, as well as the international legal thought of Scott, Alvarez, and a number of jurists, diplomats, politicians, and intellectuals from the Americas. Professor Scarfi argues that American international law, as advanced primarily by the AIIL, was driven by a U.S.-led imperial aspiration of civilizing Latin America through the promotion of the international rule of law. By providing a convincing critical account of the legal and historical foundations of the Inter-American System, this book will stimulate debate among international lawyers, IR scholars, political scientists, and intellectual historians.