"In a decentralized global system that lacks the formal trappings of domestic governance systems, most disputes between and among states and non- state actors never reach either a domestic or an international courtroom for some kind of authoritative resolution. This state of affairs continues, even with the creation of new international tribunals in recent decades. Despite, indeed because of, the relative scarcity of judicial settlement of disputes, international legal argumentation remains pervasive, but notably in a range of nonjudicial settings. States, corporations, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and even guerrilla groups make claims in international legal terms in political bodies like the United Nations' organs or domestic parliaments, private diplomatic discussions, and public statements in formal and informal settings. What purpose does such argumentation serve? What are its effects, intended and unintended? Who is engaging in the argumentation? Who is the audience? What, for that matter, counts as a legal argument and how is it different from other kinds of argument? These questions are not all new, but they have never been addressed systematically in one volume. Answering them is critical to a central goal for scholars and practitioners of international law and relations- to understand how international law actually operates in international affairs. This book probes these and other questions related to the place of international legal arguments from a multi- perspectival lens. It brings together a group of scholars and practitioners from around the world who have either written about or engaged in international legal argumentation outside of courtrooms. We draw on various theoretical traditions that address the phenomenon of argumentation in international affairs, either as an element of legal theory or of international relations theory. Yet our approach is largely inductive, looking at the actual practice of legal argumentation in a variety of settings and issue areas. From the cases, we seek to identify patterns and common themes in why, where, how, and to what effect the language of law is used outside of courts. This fills a significant gap in scholarship on international law and international relations by exploring the micro- process of communication using international law"--