The impetus behind the creation of the UCLA Journal of International Law and Foreign Affairs is the desire to bridge the intellectual schism between international relations and international law. Though these two disciplines were once intimates, they grew estranged following World War I when legalists attributed the cause of the Great War to the failure of international politics. In their view, the “balance of power” paradigm failed to prevent a major global conflict because shifting alliances led to mistrust, miscommunication and ultimately the breakdown of international order.
During the inter-war period of 1918-39, the legalist paradigm dominated intellectual thinking, seeking to cultivate international law as the foundation of a functioning and peaceful international society. Legalists maintained that adherence to legal models and open communication through institutions like the League of Nations would lead to greater transnational cooperation. However, with the advent of World War II, the legalist experiment was in turn discredited by international relations scholars. E. H. Carr, for example, dubbed the legalist paradigm “utopian,” while referring to his own view with the less pejorative (but rather presumptuous) label “realist”. Similarly, George Kennan warned against the “legalist-moralist approach” in addressing international problems. With this, the estrangement between international law and international relations was complete. Since World War II, each discipline has developed independently of the other, leading to what Oran Young calls “the two-cultures problem.” Today, political scientists and international legal scholars largely use different modes of reasoning and different forms of discourse in seeking answers to many of the same questions.
In recent years, attempts have been made to bridge the historical divide between international law and politics. Many modem scholars believe that the two disciplines are not mutually exclusive categories of international studies, but are instead complementary subjects that should be discussed in the same breath. By identifying the common ground between the two disciplines, these scholars have demonstrated that law and politics have much to contribute to one another. This recognition has created a compelling need for an interdisciplinary approach to the study of international phenomena.
The UCLA Journal of International Law and Foreign Affairs is among the first academic journals seeking to link the disciplines of international law and international relations. The journal intends to bring together scholarship from both disciplines under a single cover to symbolize their union. The diverse content of this inaugural issue reflects the founders’ vision, and augurs well for the future of this ground-breaking publication. We hope that it heralds a new era for the study of international affairs. – The Editorial Board. Available on HeinOnline, Westlaw, and LexisNexis.
ESSAY: Germany’s Role in the Post-Cold War World, by Gernot Erler. 1 UCLA J. Int’l L. & Foreign Aff. 1.
At the Water’s Edge: Regional Conflict and Cooperation over Fresh Water, by Christopher L. Kukk & David A. Deese. 1 UCLA J. Int’l L. & Foreign Aff. 21.
Israel, Iran, and Nuclear War: A Jurisprudential Assessment, by Louis René Beres. 1 UCLA J. Int’l L. & Foreign Aff. 65.
POINT-COUNTERPOINT: Out of Focus: The Use of Section 301 to Address Anticompetitive Practices in Foreign Markets, by William H. Barringer & James P. Durling. 1 UCLA J. Int’l L. & Foreign Aff. 99.
POINT-COUNTERPOINT: Market Access Barriers in the Japanese Consumer Photographic Film and Paper Sector: Can Section 301 Address the Problem?, by Charles D. Lake II & Jennifer Danner Riccardi. 1 UCLA J. Int’l L. & Foreign Aff. 143.
COMMENT: Dispute Settlement and the OECD Multilateral Agreement on Investment, by Christopher N. Camponovo. 1 UCLA J. Int’l L. & Foreign Aff. 181.
COMMENT: The Compatibility of the Principle of Nonintervention with the Right of Humanitarian Intervention, by Ravi Mahalingam. 1 UCLA J. Int’l L. & Foreign Aff. 221.
Available on HeinOnline, Westlaw, and LexisNexis.
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