Rules, Norms, and Decisions: On the Conditions of Practical and Legal Reasoning in International Relations and Domestic Affairs

by Friedrich V. Kratochwil

By assessing the impact of norms on decision making, this book argues that norms influence choices by providing reasons rather than by being causes for action. It approaches the problem via an investigation of the reasoning process in which norms play a decisive role. Professor Kratochwil argues that depending on the strictness of the guidance that norms provide in arriving at a decision, different styles of reasoning with norms can be distinguished. To that extent, Kratochwil argues that "law" is characterized by a particular mode of reasoning that is a subset of "practical reasoning." While the focus in this book is largely analytical, the argument is developed through the interpretation of the classic thinkers in international law such as Grotius, Vattel, Pufendorf, Rousseau, Hume, and Habermas.

Genres: International Relations

328 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Friedrich Kratochwil (born 1944 in Břeclav, Moravia) is a German university professor who studied at the University of Munich before migrating to the United States, then subsequently returning to Europe. He received a PhD from Princeton University.

Reviews

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book fundamentally changed my view of International Relations. I came to graduate school an inveterate realist. I leave it a constructivist, largely because of Kratochwil's work.

[Cold · Rating 3 out of 5]

An author who knows one thing so well he doesn't realise it and throws in random theories from the philosophy of language. Ideas occasionally flow but mostly it gets distracting. It's also perfectly possible I don't have the background knowledge for this text.