“This trenchant and rigorous book provides a much-needed antidote to the sanctimony and sermonizing that permeates international law. It lays bare international law’s circularity and demonstrates that much of the edifice is built on illusion. The ‘establishment’ will be forced into contortions to answer its arguments. It’s a bracing, refreshing, and altogether scintillating read.”

Michael J. Glennon, author of Limits of Law, Prerogatives of Power

"This carefully argued book provides a useful corrective to the frequent assumption, held by many American legal academics and European elites, that the world’s problems can be substantially reduced simply by creating more international law and institutions. As the book persuasively explains, only through rigorous thinking about the limits of what law and courts can accomplish in a heterogeneous and fragmented global system can we achieve more effective international cooperation. Rich in theoretical and interdisciplinary insights, the book also illustrates its claims with numerous real-world examples, both contemporary and historic, making it accessible to a wide audience."—Curtis Bradley, Duke Law School

Curtis Bradley, Duke Law School

"[Posner’s output on international law] has ranged from arguments about the moral status of international law to the normative value of democratic politics. The contribution of Global Legalism continues this eclecticism. With it, Posner has provided an intellectual history of a concept, ’legalism,’ as well as what could be considered the sociology of a profession."

Matthew Turk | Journal of International Law and Politics

"A spirited attack on ’excessive faith in the efficiency of international law.’"

Foreign Affairs