The American Society of International Law (ASIL) has announced that Anthea Roberts of the Australian National University will receive the 2018 Certificate of Merit for a preeminent contribution to creative scholarship for her book Is International Law International?
An excerpt from the Book Awards Committee Report:
In this book, Professor Roberts takes us along as she chases the title’s question down an international law rabbit-hole to reveal a topsy-turvy world in which international law is parochial and the invisible college is rendered visible. Roberts turns a beguilingly simple question into a globe-trotting, multi-method quest for a map of international law’s players and meanings. Simultaneously irreverent and serious-minded, Roberts develops an original research agenda that takes her and the reader through the migratory flows of international lawyers around the world, the divergent methods through which they are educated, and the different professional tracks through which they are socialized. The book does not just dissolve international law’s myths of universality; it is a nascent sociology of the field of international law and the beginning of a new field of comparative international law. In an era in which Western dominance over international law no longer looks certain, this book provides the tools for a more nuanced understanding of international law’s politics, revealing the deeper meanings and stakes of current debates.
ASIL annually grants three book awards. The winners were selected by ASIL’s Executive Council on the nomination of the Book Awards Committee. The awards will be presented at ASIL’s Annual Meeting in April.