Encyclopedia of Islam

law, international

In the 20th century the ways in which separate 

communities interact changed radically. Central to 

this change has been the growth and development 

of the modern nation-state, a process that began 

in 17th-century Europe with the Treaty of West-

phalia (1648) and that reached its apex in the late 

20th century. During the intervening centuries, 

the modern state replaced other kinds of political 

organization. Importantly, the development of the 

modern state coincided with the decline of explic-

itly religious authority in Europe and the rise of 

secular authority and the rule of law, giving rise 

to what is now called the modern state: an entity 

with fixed geographical borders and a government 

acting as the ultimate authority within that terri-

tory. As the modern state became the template for 

the entire world in the 20th century, a new body 

or regime of law was created to systematize the 

chaotic interactions among those states.

The modern system of international law rests 

on the authority of a series of international orga-

nizations, each having their origins in the creation 

of the United Nations (UN) in the wake of World 

War II (1945). Prior to the emergence of modern 

international law, interaction among political enti-

ties often took place on an ad hoc basis. Today, the 

UN, the World Trade Organization, the Interna-

tional Monetary Fund, and the World Bank over-

see a system of law regulating economic, military, 

and diplomatic relations among states. In theory, 

international law is based on the equality of all 

states before the law. Each state must be inde-

pendent—capable of making decisions free from 

external coercion—in order for international law 

to be effective and truly universal. The develop-

ment of international law, however, raises serious 

questions about whether or not this is possible.

In this regard, there are three main points to 

keep in mind. First, the modern state developed 

in a particular setting—17th-century Europe—

and its spread to other settings upset religious and 

political relationships and modes of organization 

in those areas. Second, the spread of the modern 

state often occurred through colonial relation-

ships between European and non-European sub-

jects. The construction of a free, stable, and truly 

independent state in this context has proved a 

difficult task, particularly given the tremendous 

dislocation of populations that accompanied the 

process. Finally, the idea of international law 

developed out of Anglo-American and European 

experiences in the wake of World Wars I and 

II, and addressed those parties’ concerns. Many 

states that existed at the time and the many that 

have formed since the close of World War II were 

excluded from the negotiations that created the 

system of modern international law.

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law

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The vast majority of the conflicts confront-

ing the world today, including ethnic conflict, 

religious violence, and the widening gap between 

developed and developing nations, reflect these 

problems. Many Islamist movements, for exam-

ple, contest the authority of human-made law 

and of human sovereignty, both central to the 

concept of the modern state and to international 

law. Islamist movements, however, are certainly 

not alone in raising questions about the validity 

of international law. In many quarters of the world 

international law is a contested entity, far from the 

universally accepted regulatory system envisioned 

by 19th- and 20th-century American and Euro-

pean scholars and policymakers.

See also  a

rab

-i

sraeli

 

conFlicts

;  c

amp

  d

avid

accords

; 

citizenship

; 

colonialism

; 

dar

 

al

-i

slam

and 

dar

 

al

-h

arb

;  g

UlF

 W

ars

;  i

slamism

; 

hUman

rights

; 

Jihad

 

movements

; 

terrorism

.

Caleb H. Elfenbein