The Twofold Relevance of International Law in Transitional Orders

Abstract 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.