CIAO DATE: 11/03

The State of International Relations Research and Perspectives in Germany

Gunther Hellmann, editor
August 2003

Juridification in International Politics by Martin List and Bernhard Zangl

Abstract

The contribution gives an overview of political science research in international juridification or legalization with a special emphasis on the contributions made so far by the German IR community. International legalization is reconstructed in four historical steps. The first step consists in mutual recognition as equals under public international law by the early modern European states. It is followed by step two, the enlargement of this recognition by applying it to non-European states as well. The third step consists in the transition from the public international law of coexistence to that of cooperation, i.e. the increasing legalization of ever more issue areas. The fourth and so far final step supports these legalization processes by applying ever more binding procedures. Differing approaches to analyzing this fourth step of international legalization are presented: the adjudication perspective stressing increased involvement of courts and court-like third party mechanisms; the legitimacy perspective emphasizing legitimate norm-creation processes; the management perspective taking particular note of dialogue-based implementation of law and the enforcement perspective seeing legalization as sanctioned lawenforcement. By way of conclusion, some hints at further desirable research on international legalization are given.