Hidden History of International Law in the Americas: Empire and Legal Networks (History and Theory of International Law) - Tapa dura

Scarfi has provided thus far, possibly the most complete and detailed history of how international law evolved in the American continent. (André Nunes Chaib, Journal of the History of International Law)

In a remarkable and thoughtful book, Juan Pablo Scarfi examines what he calls the 'hidden history' of international law in the Americas in the early twentieth century... combines international and intellectual historyfocuses on the ideas, careers and interactions of several prominent international lawyers. (Tom Long (University of Warwick), International Affairs Book Reviews)

In reconstructing the ideology of Pan-Americanism, Juan Pablo Scarfi has shown how international law helps establish and secure hegemonic relations while also providing tools for those who might struggle to disturb them. With his insights into how and why the United States associated itself with international law from the nineteenth century on, Scarfi also recovers how the agenda of Latin Americans, notably Alejandro Alvarez, shaped outcomes. A brilliant debut. (Samuel Moyn, Jeremiah Smith, Jr. Professor of Law and Professor of History, Harvard University)

Juan Pablo Scarfi has provided a fascinating and detailed insight into the interplay between international law and politics during the crucial half-century preceding World War II. He sheds valuable new light on U.S.-Latin American relations during that period, and especially on the controversies over the Monroe Doctrine. (Stephen C. Neff, School of Law, University of Edinburgh)

The Hidden History of International Law in the Americas is an important contribution to the interwoven history of imperialism and international law. Juan-Pablo Scarfi has performed a valuable service by un-ravelling the complex network of individuals, institutions, and ideas that helped to legitimate the dominance of the United States in the Western Hemisphere during the early twentieth century. (Duncan Bell, Department of Politics and International Studies, University of Cambridge)

A deeply-researched eye-opening account of the interaction between U.S. imperialism and Pan-American aspirations in the making of international law in the Western Hemisphere. It offers a new angle into perennial inquiries about U.S.-Latin American relations, and a model for transnational intellectual history. (José C. Moya, Professor of History, Barnard College, Columbia University)

International law has played a crucial role in the construction of imperial projects. Yet within the growing field of studies about the history of international law and empire, scholars have seldom considered this complicit relationship in the Americas. The Hidden History of International Law in the Americas offers the first exploration of the deployment of international law for the legitimization of U.S. ascendancy as an informal empire in Latin America. This book explores the intellectual history of a distinctive idea of American international law in the Americas, focusing principally on the evolution of the American Institute of International Law (AIIL). This organization was created by U.S. and Chilean jurists James Brown Scott and Alejandro Alvarez in Washington D.C. for the construction, development, and codification of international law across the Americas. Juan Pablo Scarfi examines the debates sparked by the AIIL over American international law, intervention and non-intervention, Pan-Americanism, the codification of public and private international law and the nature and scope of the Monroe Doctrine, as well as the international legal thought of Scott, Alvarez, and a number of jurists, diplomats, politicians, and intellectuals from the Americas. Professor Scarfi argues that American international law, as advanced primarily by the AIIL, was driven by a U.S.-led imperial aspiration of civilizing Latin America through the promotion of the international rule of law. By providing a convincing critical account of the legal and historical foundations of the Inter-American System, this book will stimulate debate among international lawyers, IR scholars, political scientists, and intellectual historians.