This thesis is a socio-legal study of the politics of international law (i.e. the relationship between international law and international politics). There is not necessarily an accepted scope, or even direction, of this relationship but it is widely perceived to be important in international, as well as national, affairs. Still, this relationship needs to be better understood and articulated. This thesis offers a theoretical and empirical account of the phenomenon of the politics of international law, and its implications for the Chechen conflict by exploring how and to what extent one's understanding of the phenomenon is determined by culture, history, political and social context. Part One is an overview of the literature and theoretical approaches to studying the relationship between (international) law and (international) politics, as well as an analysis of sixteen face-to-face semi-structured interviews with practitioners of international law and international politics from different backgrounds and cultures. That leads to a theoretical model which is applied and verified in Part Two, a case study of the Chechen conflict. This focuses specifically on a socio-historical understanding of international law, the humanitarian and human rights movement in Russia, and the relationship between human rights law and international humanitarian law in the judgements of the European Court of Human Rights in the so-called Chechen cases. The findings of this study indicate that international politics is highly influenced by international law just as international law is affected by international politics. They both are integral parts of the international system, nevertheless, remain distinct from each other. It is therefore the politics of international law that allows international relations to take place, where politics provides the means by which the negotiations can take place and law creates specific language and provides a framework within which the debates can take place. It demonstrates that the challenges of modern times make that the two become increasingly influential on one another.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:537480 |
| Date | January 2010 |
| Creators | Szablewska, Natalia M. |
| Contributors | Piotrowicz, Ryszard ; Harding, Christopher |
| Publisher | Aberystwyth University |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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