The Future of International Law

This work offers a concise yet incisive look at how international law was imagined on the eve of the Great War. Drawing on the author’s experience as a leading scholar and professor, it frames the pre‑war optimism for a legal order that could restrain conflict. The opening pages set the scene with vivid references to the Hague conferences and the sudden rupture of peace in 1914, underscoring why the manuscript’s publication was delayed.

Within the first act, the author outlines a vision of a league of nations bound by shared economic, military, and naval commitments, aimed at discouraging unilateral use of force. He balances hopeful proposals for collective security with a sober awareness of the League’s early shortcomings. Listeners will find a historically grounded discussion that still resonates with today’s debates over global governance and the rule of law among states.