Internationalists

'It will change the way you remember the 20th century andread the news in the 21st' Steven Pinker

'A clarion call to preserve law and order across our planet' Philippe Sands

'A fascinating and important book ... given the state of the world, The Internationalists has come along at the right moment' Margaret MacMillan, Financial Times

Since the end of the Second World War, we have moved from aninternational system in which war was legal, and accepted as theultimate arbiter of disputes between nations, to one in which it wasnot. Nations that wage aggressive war have become outcasts and havealmost always had to give up their territorial gains. How did thisepochal transformation come about? This remarkable book, which combinespolitical, legal, and intellectual history, traces the origins andcourse of one of the great shifts in the modern world.

'Sweeping and yet personable at the same time, The Internationalistsexplores the profound implications of the outlawry of war. ProfessorsOona Hathaway and Scott Shapiro enrich their analysis with vignettes ofthe many individuals (some unknown to most students of History) whoplayed such important roles in this story. None have put it all togetherin the way that Hathaway and Shapiro have done in this book' Paul Kennedy

Reviews

An extraordinary high-wire act ... this book is a lively firecracker that illuminates not only the past, but also the present