International Law and NormsWhat are the generally accepted sources of international law?- International custom (customary law)o Develops slowly over timeo Additional codification in recent decades Ex: Diplomatic immunity- International treatieso Ratification is voluntary based on national procedures US: 2/3 of senate  Others: simple legislative approvalo Treaties consistent with sovereignty- Internationally accepted standards of behaviorWhat is the difference between primary and secondary rules in the context ofinternational law?- Primary Rules: Constrain states’ behavior o (ex: Kyoto Protocol)- Secondary Rules: Govern how primary rules are made o (ex: Framework Convention on Climate Change)What are obligation, precision and delegation in the context of international law?- Obligation: degree to which agents are legally boundo Compliance unconditional for high-obligation law  Ex: WTO treatieso Aspirational compliance for low-obligation laws Ex: human rights treaties- Precision: specificity of obligationso Reduces scope of reasonable interpretationo International law is usually very precise- Delegation: courts make new laws when precision is low and delegation is higho Third-party interpretation and applicationWhat role do transnational organizations and networks play in the boomerang model?- The boomerang effect allows rather weak groups to put pressure on their governmentso TANs can reveal important information to influence whether legislators and voters support or oppose an agreement and help promote greater cooperation between countriesWhat is a Transnational Advocacy Network? Give an actual example.- Aim to bring about political and social change through:o Social mobilizationo Changes in social normso Political pressure on governmentsWhat are the stages of the norms life cycle?- Actors attempt to convince an important population to accept and embrace their belief- Norm cascades to become near universal standard of behavior- Norm is internalizedWhat is an international norms entrepreneur? Give an example.- Often “frame issues” in order to redefine them as undesirableo Ex: opponents of female circumcision framed the practice by changing the name to female genital mutilationGive an example of an international norm that has been codified into international law.- Vienna Convention on the Law of TreatiesIdentify two limitations that will likely prevent Transnational Advocacy Networks from replacing national governments.- Cannot legally bind their members- Must rely on voluntary compliance from their targets- Depend on benign treatment from statesHuman RightsIdentify the two main streams of philosophical writing and the two principal categories of human rights each influenced.- Liberalismo Origin of civil and political rights- Marxismo Origin of economic and social rightsIdentify three specific civil and political rights recognized by the Universal Declaration of Human rights.- Right to life, liberty, and equality before the law- Freedom of thought, religion, and expression- Protection against torture and slaveryIdentify three specific economic and social rights recognized by the UniversalDeclaration of Human rights.- The right to equal pay- Right to form trade unions and strike- The right to free primary educationWhat is the principal legal difference between the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the two subsequent covenants?- The two covenants were formed to translate the UDHR into legally binding treatiesWhat documents comprise what is frequently called the International Bill of Rights?- The UNDR and the twin covenantsWhat is the purpose of the First Optional Protocols of the two human rights covenants?- Permits petitions from individuals for violations of covenantWhat is the most common reason that governments violate the human rightsof their citizens?- Continue to violate human rights laws because many states are not willing to pay the high cost to protect themName two international treaties or conventions on human rights to come after the two human rights covenants.- Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)- Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT)What is the purpose of the International Criminal Court? What type of international institutions was it intended to replace?- A court of “last resort”  cannot act if a state judicial authority has already genuinely investigated a caseIdentify two important innovations in human rights institutions that are likely to have implications for the future.- Post-conflict transitional justice rather than prosecutionso Aim is to bring unity by moving forward—avoids adversarial criminal proceedings- Countries may claim the right to prosecute perpetrators of crimes against humanityo Means that the location of the crime and the citizenship of the individuals involved are irrelevantWhat is universal jurisdiction? Give an actual historical example of its use. - Useful for war crimes, genocide, torture, and other serious offenseso Ex: Case of Augusto Pinochet- Not an international principle, but abusers and their assets can sometimes still be seizedWhat is individual petition? Why is it significant in international relations?- Individuals are allowed to petition the Court directly if they claim a state has violated rights that are denoted in the ECHRo Make it harder for states to block international courts from hearing cases they fear they might loseWhat are non-derogable human rights? Give one example.- Rights that cannot be suspended even in a declared state of emergencyo Ex: Amnesty InternationalGlobal EnvironmentWhy do addressing global environmental problems resemble a Prisoners' Dilemma situation?- The prisoner’s dilemma, where players individually “defect” is produced at the global level, with the same consequenceso The efforts of one country to limit pollution has a rather small effect on the global environmentWhat is an externality? Give an example.- Created when a decision creates costs or benefits for stakeholders other than the actor making the decisionExplain how the European Emissions Trading Scheme has managed to reduce emissions of greenhouse gasses.- Industries are given tradable allowances for greenhouse gases up to anemissions limit- These firms may purchase credits from other firms if they want to exceed those levelso Reduce emissions by selling unused creditsHow do common pool resources