The National Interest on International Law & Order

This book features a series of articles that explore international law and the nature of the global order.

Booz Allen Hamilton Vice President R. James Woolsey is the editor of The National Interest on International Law & Order, a collection of articles authored by some of America's leading academics, lawyers, and policy makers, including Joseph Nye, Jesse Helms, and David Rivkin.

R. James Woolsey

In the first section of the book, the authors debate the role that international law should play in the formulation of policy and whether "international law" really exists. The second section looks at the viability and utility of international institutions, such as the United Nations and the International Criminal Court, in advancing U.S. interests.

In the third section, the authors discuss whether primary responsibility for combating global terrorism and the international drug trade should be vested with law enforcement agencies or whether it should fall under the purview of foreign policy. The final section of the book is devoted to the question of human rights and whether human rights are an outgrowth of natural law or are natural imperatives at odds with protecting individual dignities and freedoms.

book summary posted in 2003