Public Law Studies Quarterly

A Reflection on the Postmodern Critical Approach to International ‎Law: From Rigidity to Fluidity of Concepts

Document Type : Article

Authors

Reza Mousazadeh 1
Ehsan Sepahvand 2

1 Prof,. Departmenetof Law, School of International Relations, Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. ‎Tehran, Iran‎

2 Master of Diplomacy and International Organizations, Tehran, Iran‎

https://doi.org/10.22059/jplsq.2023.355226.3268
Abstract
During the last three decades of the twentieth century, the field of social sciences witnessed significant transformations. Among these changes is the emergence of a critical thought known as postmodernism. The postmodern critical movement in international law seeks to identify the distinctions and conflicts in international legal discourses, focusing on the values of the marginalized in this domain. From this perspective, international law is in a kind of crisis regarding the validity of legal rules and their functionality. This study critiques international law from a postmodern standpoint through three avenues: critiquing the rationalist structure of liberal thought, critiquing the epistemology of modernism, and critiquing legal positivism through the deconstruction of postmodernism. The authors of this research argue that the emergence of fluidity in international law, viewed through postmodern critiques, is a consequence of a social process. This concept is discussed by examining the components associated with postmodernism, including pluralism, relativism, uncertainty, and anti-foundationalism. Consequently, from a postmodern perspective, the rejection of grand narratives presents an inconsistent future for international law and its thinkers, characterized by fluidity in the foundations of international law. The main issue in examining these hypotheses is to elucidate the impact of postmodern themes and the concepts arising from this impact on international law, which is approached through a discursive method of engaging with these concepts.

Keywords

postmodernism
critical ‎studies of international ‎law
pluralism
fluidity
‎anti-foundationalism.‎
Subjects

  1. English

    1. A) Books
    2. Adler, M. D. (2010). A companion to philosophy of law and legal theory. Ed. Dennis Michael Patterson, Wiley-Blackwell.
    3. Audi, R. (1999). the Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy. New York: Cambridge University Press.
    4. Barthes ,R (1989). Selected Writings. ed.& introuduced by Susan Sontag. London : Fontana press
    5. Chimni, B. S. (2017). New Approaches to International Law: The Critical Scholarship of David Kennedy and Martti Koskenniemi, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Online publication.
    6. Litowitz, D. E. (1997). Postmodern Philosophy and Legal Thought . USA: Loyola University Chicago.
    7. Foucault. M (1984). The Foucault Reader ed, Paul Rabinow, London:Penguin Books.
    8. Simposon. G. J. (1994). “ Imagined Consenti Demo Critic Liberalism in International Legal Theory”. Australia Year book of International law. Melbourne: University of Melbourne.
    9. Derrida. J. (1976). Of Grammatology, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
    10. Helen, M (2001). Postmodernism and Law, Jurisprudence in a Fragmenting World . Ashgate Publishing.
    11. Habermas, J. (1996). Between Facts and Norms : Contributions to a Discourse Theory of Law and Democracy, Cambridge : Mass, MIT Press.
    12. Habermas, J. (1989), The Structural of Transformation of the Public Sphere, Trans. Thomas Burger, Cambridge: polity press.
    13. Heidegger, M. (1993). The Age of the World Picture, in D (ed) Basic Writing: Martin Heidegger, 2nd ed, London: Routledge.
    14. Litowitz, D. E. (1997) Postmodern Philosophy and Legal Thought, Chicago: Loyola University Chicago.
    15. Lyotard. J.F (1984). The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge,Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press,
    16. Koskenniemi. M, (2004). the Gentle Civilizer of Nations: The Rise and fall of International Law 1870-1960. UK:Cambridge University Press .
    17. Koskenniemi. M. (1989) From Apology to Utopia : The Structure of International Legal Argument . Cambridge: University Press.
    18. Koskenniemi,M (2011). The Politics of International Law. Bloomsbury: Publishing Hart
    19. Murphy. M. C. (2005) Natural Law Theory, in : Blackwell Guide to the philosophy of Law and Legal Theory, edited by Martin p. Golding and William A., USA: Blackwell press.
    20. Adler. M. D. (2010) A companion to philosophy of law and legal theory. Ed. Dennis Michael Patterson. Wiley-Blackwell, Article number: 23.
    21. Luhmann. N. (2004) Law as a social system. oxford : oxford university press.
    22. Steve. S, Ownens P.(2008). Alternative approaches to international relations theory in The Globalisation of World Politics, 4th ed, Oxford : Oxford University Press.
    23. Tushnet, M.V (2005). Critical Legal Theory, in : Blackwell Guide to the philosophy of Law and Legal Theory . edited by Martin p. Golding and William A, USA : Blackwell Press.
    24. Unger, R. M, (1986) The Critical Legal Studies Movement, USA: Harvard University Press.
    25. Stacy M .H (2001) . Postmodernism and Law, Jurisprudence in a Fragmenting World, Aldershot ; Burlington, VT : Ashgate/Dartmouth.
    26. Wacks .R (2006). Philosophy of Law: A Very Short Introduction. oxford : oxford university press.

     

    1. B) Articles
    2. Santos .S. B (1987). Law : A Map of Misreading, Toward a Postmodern Conception of Law. Journal of Law and society, 14 (3) 279-302
    3. Carty, A (1991) . Critical International Law: Recent Trends in the Theory of International Law. EJIL 2, (1)66-96.
    4. Kennedy .D.(1986). Critical Theory, Structuralism and Contemporary Legal Scholar ship. NEW ENG. L. REV, 21(2), 209-244.
    5. Kennedy .D. (1980). Theses about International Law Discourse. GYIL 23(3)41-61.
    6. Kennedy, D (1987). International Legal Structures. Baden-Baden: Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft, AJIL, 83 (3), 269-294.
    7. Duncan, K. (1976). Form and Substance in Private Law Adjudication. Harvard Law Review, Vol. 89(3).1976-1994.
    8. Hart .L. A. (1962). The Concept of Law. The Yale Law Journal, 71 (6), 161-193.
    9. Kress. K (1997). Modern Jurisprudence, Postmodern Jurisprudence and Truth. Michigan Law Review.95 (6).
    10. Makau, M.(2000). Critical Race Theory and International Law: The View of an Insider-Outsider. Vill. L. Rev45. (841)260-267 .
    11. Koskenniemi. M, Leino. P. (2002). Fragmentation of International Law? Postmodern Anxieties.,LJIL 2002(15).553-579
    12. Koskenniemi .M, (1992). Breach of Treaty or Non-Compliance? Reflections on the Enforcement of the Montreal Protocol. Yearbook of International Environmental Law., 3 (1).123-162
    13. Koskenniemi. M, (1990). The Politics of International Law. European Journal of International Law1(1).4-32
    14. Koskenniemi. M (2009). The Politics of International Law. 20 European Journal of International Law, 20(1), 7-19.
    15. Morton, H. (1977). The Rule of Law : An Unqiualified Human Good? . Book Review, YALE L.J 43(4), 1391-1426.

    40.,Korhonen. O, (1996). New International Law:Silence, Defence or Deliverance. EJIL, 7(1), 1-28.

    41 Robers. S. (2005). After Government ? on Representing Law Without the state. M L R I, 68 (1), 1-24.

    1. Shashi .T, (1999). Are Human Rights Universal?. World Policy Journal, 16(4) 1-6.
    2. Dupuy P.M (2007). A Doctrinal Debate in The Globalization Era : On The “FRAGMENTATION” OF INTERNATIONAL LAW. European Journal of Legal Studies, 1(1)1-19.

     

    French

    1. A) Books
    2. Supiot .A (2005). in : Home Juridicus, Essai sur la function Anthropologique du droit, Paris :Edition du Seuil, 1e Edition.

     

    1. B) Articles
    2. Arnaud, A.J (1998). Entre modernité et mondialisation. Cinq leçons d'histoire de la philosophie du droit et de l'État. Année, Droit et société, L.G.D.J. 40.649-662

     

    References In Persian:

    1. A) Books
    2. Ahanchian, M. R. (2003). Education in postmodern conditions. Tehran: Tahouri publications (In Persian).
    3. Bagheri, M. (2016). Philosophical schools in international law. Tehran: Mizan publications (In Persian).
    4. Bauman, Z. (2005).Liquid love (E. Sabeti, Trans.) Tehran: Qoqnoos publications (In Persian).
    5. Rezaei Panah, A.& Shokati Moghreb, S.(2018). Political discourse analysis. Tehran: Tisa publications (In Persian).
    6. Kazemi, A. A. (2015). Metodology of international law. Tehran: Ghoomes publications
    7. Lyotard, J. F. (001). The postmodern conditioin: A report on knowledge (H. Nozari, Trans). Tehran: Gam-e No publications (In Persian).
    8. Lyotard, J.F. (2015). Phenomenology (A. Rashidian, trans.) Tehran: Ney publications (In Persian).
    9. Hegel, G. W. F. (2008). Master and slave (H. Enayat, Trans) Tehran: Kharazmi publications (In Persian).

     

    1. B) Articles
    2. Alvani, S.M., & Hashemian, S. M. H. (2008). Rereading policy knowledge in the postmodern context: Formation of policy in the postmodern era. Quarterly Journal of Methodology of human Sciences, 14(56) (In Persian).
    3. Alhoei Nazari, H.,& Asgharzadeh Kiani, M. (2021). Reflection of postmodern ideas in selected provision of the UN Chapter. Public law studies Quarterly, (51)3 (In Persian).
    4. Pormohammadi, N., & Taleb , H. (2015). Interdisciplinary relationship between science and theology: the epistomelogical problem and the postfoundationalism solution. Religious Studies Research Journal,3(5) (In Persian).
    5. Tajik, M. R. (2008). Postmodernism and method. Quarterly Journal of Seminary and university-Methodology of Human scienes, 14(55) (In Persian).
    6. Darounparvar,A. & Asgari.P. (2021) A study of the ideas of the New Stream critical school in international law . International Legal Journal (64) (In Persian).
    7. Alizadeh, M. (2007) A look at the phenomenon of the fragmentation in international law. Legal Information Quarterly, 6(12) (In Persian).
    8. Nasr, S. H. (1999) Reflections on Islamand modern theoght (M. Ansari, Trans). Matin reaserch Journal,(2) (In Persian).
    9. Mousavi, S.M. (2010) The role of language in Wittgensteins political philosophy. Allameh Specialized Biannual Journal, (25) (In Persian).
Public Law Studies Quarterly
Volume 55, Issue 2 - Serial Number 42
Summer 2025
Summer 2025
Pages 803-829

  • Receive Date 05 March 2023
  • Revise Date 12 May 2023
  • Accept Date 26 June 2023

Home

Journal Process Ethics

Peer Review Process

Submission

Indexing and Abstracting

Contact Us