Custom, Power and the Power of Rules: International Relations and Customary International Law

by Michael Byers

This book sets out to explain the most foundational aspect of international law in international relations terms. By doing so it goes straight to the central problem of international law--that although legally speaking all States are equal, socially speaking they clearly are not. As such it is an ambitious and controversial book that will be of interest to all international relations scholars and students and practitioners of international law.

276 pages, Paperback

First published March 10, 1995

About the author

Michael Byers is the author of the story collection The Coast of Good Intentions, a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award, and the acclaimed novel Long for This World, winner of the First Novel Award from Virginia Commonwealth University. Both were New York Times Notable Books. A former Stegner Fellow and Whiting Award winner, he teaches at the University of Michigan.