International lawyers have often been interested in the link between theirdiscipline and the foundational issues of jurisprudential method but littlethat is sys... » 

International lawyers have often been interested in the link between theirdiscipline and the foundational issues of jurisprudential method but littlethat is systematic has been written on this subject. This book fills the gap byfocusing on issues of conceptformation in legal science in general as well aslooking at their application to the specific concerns of international law. Inresponding to these issues the author argues that public international lawseeks to establish and institutionalize a system of authoritative judgmentwhereby the conditions by which a community of states can coexist and cooperate are ensured. A State in turn must be understood as ultimatelyderiving legitimacy from the pursuit of the human dignity of the community itgoverns as well as the dignity of those human beings and States affected byits actions in international relations. This argument is in line with a longand now resurgent cosmopolitan tradition in legal and political philosophy. The «