The Twofold Relevance of International Law in Transitional Orders

Bibliographic Data

ID8251979
AuthorsHeike Krieger (0000-0002-7859-8132, British Institute of International and Comparative Law), Andrea Liese (0000-0001-6640-7354, University of Potsdam, corresponding author)
Year2026
Volume6
Issue1
Publication date2026-01-15
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueGlobal Studies Quarterly (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2634-3797 • E-ISSN: 2634-3797
PublisherOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/isagsq/ksaf120
OpenAlexW7128389473
LanguageEN
References cited77

Despite broad agreement that the international order is losing its resilience, a new order is not in place. This article argues that law helps better understand what this special forum conceptualizes as transitional orders. We combine an interdisciplinary framework for assessing value change with the special forum’s framework to examine whether core values of international law are changing and how law shapes a transition. First, we find that the transition of legal values mirrors two characteristics of transitional orders: uncertainty and ambiguity. Secondly, we attribute this outcome to a “tug-of-war” between various actors seeking to change or preserve foundational elements of the global order, a dynamic characterized by another feature of transnational orders: intentionality. We also find that international law’s structures and processes foster the twofold relevance of international law in a transitional order by sheltering some elements against change and offering discursive spaces and procedures to integrate new approaches

Core (optical fiber) · International law · Order (exchange) · Relevance (law) · Transition (genetics) · Transitional justice · Value (mathematics) · International Law and Human Rights · Law in Society and Culture · War, Law, and Justice

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