Brazilian Journal of Empirical Legal Studies (Jul 2015)

The empirical turn in international legal scholarship

  • Gregory Shaffer,
  • Tom Ginsburg

DOI
https://doi.org/10.19092/reed.v2i2.80
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 2, no. 2

Abstract

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This article presents and assesses a new wave of em- pirical research on international law. Recent scholar- ship has moved away from theoretical debates over whether international law “matters,” and focuses in- stead on exploring the conditions under which inter- national law is created and produces effects. As this empirical research program has matured, it has al- lowed for new, midlevel theorizing that we call “conditional international law theory”.

Keywords