Much of international law, like much of contract, is enforced not by independent
sanctions but rather through cooperative interaction among the parties, with repeat
dealings, reputation, and a preference for reciprocity doing most of the enforcement
work. The Limits of Leviathan identifies the areas in international law where formal
enforcement provides the most promising means of promoting cooperation and
where it does not. In particular, it looks at the International Criminal Court,
the rules for world trade, efforts to enlist domestic courts to enforce orders of
the International Court of Justice, domestic judicial enforcement of the Geneva
Convention, the domain of international commercial agreements, and the question
of odious debt incurred by sovereigns. This book explains how international law,
like contract, depends largely on the willingness of responsible parties to make
commitments.