International Legal ArgumentationPractice in Need of a Theory

Abstract

This introductory chapter situates the study of legal argumentation outside of courtrooms in the context of existing theories of discourse and deliberation in international law and politics. It identifies a central gap in those theories, namely, the distinctive role of legal as opposed to other forms of argumentation. It posits a set of questions addressed in the book that together illuminate the microprocesses of communicating in the language of international law: who, what, where, why, and to what effect? The introduction also provides a synopsis of the chapters in the book, clustered into three groups: security, human dignity, and the global commons.