Democracies and International Law Hersch Lauterpacht Memorial Lectures Series

Democracies and authoritarian regimes have different approaches to international law, grounded in their different forms of government. As the balance of power between democracies and non-democracies shifts, it will have consequences for international legal order. Human rights may face severe challenges in years ahead, but citizens of democratic countries may still benefit from international legal cooperation in other areas. Ranging across several continents, this volume surveys the state of democracy-enhancing international law, and provides ideas for a way forward in the face of rising authoritarianism.

Introduction: A tale of two dictators; 1. Why would democracies be different?; 2. Are democracies different? Some facts; 3. Can international law save democracy?; 4. Regions and the defense of democracy; 5. Authoritarian international law; 6. Whence the liberal order? China, the United States, and the return of sovereignty; Conclusion: What is to be done?

Tom Ginsburg is the Leo Spitz Professor of International Law, University of Chicago Law School, and a research associate at the American Bar Foundation. He is the author, most recently, of How to Save a Constitutional Democracy (2018, with Aziz Huq). He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Before entering law teaching, he served as a legal advisor at the Iran – United States Claims Tribunal, The Hague, Netherlands, and he has consulted with numerous international development agencies and governments on legal and constitutional reform. He currently serves as a senior advisor on Constitution Building to International IDEA.