[...]... empirical claims about international law The most a theoretical discussion such as this one can do is offer an explanation of how international law can influence states It cannot compare the power of international law to the many other pressures a state faces and, therefore, cannot come to any strong conclusions about how effective international law is in practice Critics of international law might charge... focuses on international law and, more specifically, on the conventional sources of international law: treaties and customary international law It also examines ‘‘soft law, ’’ which includes international agreements that fall short of formal treaties but nevertheless seek to influence state conduct.27 Though not among the classical sources of international law, there is little serious doubt that soft law instruments... shed considerable light on international law and help us to understand the international legal system, they do not offer a satisfying theory of how and when states comply with international law or when international law is more or less likely to work Social scientists—most prominently political scientists—have used a different set of methodological tools to examine international law This literature has... as no surprise to most international lawyers that international law can affect states, though social scientists are sometimes more skeptical But whatever one’s perspective on international law, its ability to alter state behavior raises the same critical question how does it do it? With rare exceptions, no coercive force will be applied to get states to comply with international law Indeed, in many instances... alternative approach that does not suffer from these problems uses large data sets and 10 how international law works econometric techniques Studies of this sort have similarly found evidence that international law matters Simmons (2000b) shows that legal obligations have an effect on state conduct in international monetary law Tomz, Goldstein, and Rivers (2005) demonstrate that the GATT led to an increase... the only attempt to reconcile a view that international law fails to affect state behavior with the observed enthusi12 how international law works asm of states for creating and fighting over international law argues that state activity in this area is a form of ‘‘cheap talk’’ (Goldsmith and Posner 2005) In essence, the claim is that states’ engagement with the international system (or with parts of the... facilitating cooperation among states The theory developed here helps us to understand how international law can fulfill that role Beyond simply addressing skeptics of international law, this book speaks to those, including traditional international law scholars, who believe that the system affects states The study of international law has been (slowly) embracing a social scientific methodology since at least... somehow find it costly to violate international law simply because of its status as law The most developed version of this approach comes from Chayes and Chayes (1995), the founders of the ‘‘managerial school’’ of international law They claim that a focus on matters of enforcement and E Introduction 15 sanctions in international law is misplaced In their view, the primary source of noncompliance with international. .. 18 how international law works (Moravcsik 1997) The most prominent legal scholar working in this tradition is Anne-Marie Slaughter (2004), who has famously argued that the modern state is ‘‘disaggregated,’’ in the sense that informal networks of government officials engage in international legal governance These government networks are, in Slaughter’s opinion, critical to understanding international law. .. about how and when international law affects outcomes requires more formal investigation, and that is an exercise for another time Compliance and Effectiveness in International Law t is useful at this early stage of the book to clarify a terminological issue that recurs throughout the book The impact of international law on states is often discussed in terms of ‘‘compliance’’ with international law In . alt="" How International Law Works This page intentionally left blank How International Law Works A Rational Choice Theory Andrew T. Guzman 1 2008 1 Oxford University Press, Inc., publishes works. Data Guzman, Andrew T. How international law works : a rational choice theory / Andrew T. Guzman. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-19-530556-2 1. International law. I. Title. KZ3410.G89. 204 CIL and Other International Law 206 Chapter 6 Understanding International Law 211 Notes 219 Bibliography 237 Index 248 viii Contents Preface W hen teaching international law, one is confronted