It is hard to quarrel with the claim that international law scholars should pay attention to all of the effects of international law, and not just to compliance. In this respect, Professors Howse and Teitel are on solid ground. I believe that the (mostly unnamed) authors of compliance studies are aware of this point and have not claimed that compliance is all that matters. But there is a significant irony here. To understand what it is, one must recall some intellectual history.
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