2009 Course Handbook
IRPG857: International Law and Institutions
In this course we will attempt to discover why international law and institutions have increasingly become the instruments of choice for states in solving common problems and expressing common values. By the end of this course, each student should be able to come to an informed and reasoned view on the functions (or roles), effects, and impact of international law and institutions on state behaviour, interests and identities. The course has both a theoretical and empirical focus. In the first part of the course we will focus on questions of the nature of international law and institutions, the historical and political context in which both have developed, before examining the major theoretical approaches to law and institutions within the IR discipline (Realism, Liberalism and Constructivism). In the second part of the course will focus on a number of substantive issue areas in which law and institutions have come to play a central role in enhancing state cooperation, and regulating state behaviour, including the United Nations collective security system and the law on the use of force; terrorism and the challenge to international law and institutions; international crimes and the ICC; human rights law and institutions; international trade and the WTO; and the environment and the Kyoto Protocol. In the final part of the course we look specifically at the impact of unequal power relations on the formation, functioning, legitimacy and effectiveness of international law and institutions as well as the issue of legitimacy and global.
| Credit Points: | 4 |
| Contact Hours: | -- |
| When Offered: |
D1 - Day; Offered in the first half-year
E1 - Evening; Offered in the first half-year X1 - External study; Offered in the first half-year |
| Staff Contact: | Dr Lavina Lee |
| Prerequisites: | |
| Corequisites: | |
| NCCWs: | IRPG842 |
| Unit Designations: | -- |
| Assessed As: | Graded |
| Offered By: |
Faculty of Arts |
Timetable Information
For unit timetable information please visit the Timetables@Macquarie Website.