NCJ Number
141781
Date Published
1993
Length
50 pages
Annotation
This paper develops a theoretical framework for analysis of the various functions performed by international law and international organizations during international crises; it examines the Entebbe hostages crisis so as to elaborate on common schema applicable to the phenomenon of international crisis in general.
Abstract
In chronological order, the author delineates five functions performed by international law and international organizations during the Entebbe crisis: definition (definition of the situation for the actors involved); decision (the role of international law in the national and international decisionmaking procedures); adjudication (adjudication of the outstanding dispute between Israel and Uganda following the Entebbe raid by Israeli commandos); resolution (resolution of the outstanding dispute among the parties to a crisis); and redefinition (redefinition in standards for state behavior by the international community). This functional analysis permits the Entebbe crisis to be understood as one paradigmatic manifestation of the dialectical interaction between international law and international politics in time of crisis. During an international crisis, law and politics are so highly interdependent as to be virtually indistinguishable. International politics is and becomes international law, and international law is and becomes international politics. This functional analysis of international law reveals these dynamic processes by which the entire international system proceeds to cope with a crisis in order to survive. 176 notes