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Fleur Johns,Non-Legality in International Law: Unruly Law,Cambridge,Cambridge University Press,2013, 259 pp., ISBN9781107014015" /> <meta name="twitter:description" content="there for others to take things forward, but one is left with the feeling that Professor Johns would have some very interesting things to say about these questions. In closing, what is perhaps most powerful about Non-Legality in International Law is" /> <meta name="twitter:image" content="https://0.academia-photos.com/45669935/104097316/93280887/s200_roberto.yamato.jpeg" /> <meta property="fb:app_id" content="2369844204" /> <meta property="og:type" content="article" /> <meta property="og:url" content="https://www.academia.edu/93252306/On_the_Question_of_the_Negative_and_the_Politics_of_International_Legal_Language_Fleur_Johns_Non_Legality_in_International_Law_Unruly_Law_Cambridge_Cambridge_University_Press_2013_259_pp_ISBN9781107014015" /> <meta property="og:title" content="On the Question of the Negative and the Politics of International Legal Language. Fleur Johns,Non-Legality in International Law: Unruly Law,Cambridge,Cambridge University Press,2013, 259 pp., ISBN9781107014015" /> <meta property="og:image" content="http://a.academia-assets.com/images/open-graph-icons/fb-paper.gif" /> <meta property="og:description" content="there for others to take things forward, but one is left with the feeling that Professor Johns would have some very interesting things to say about these questions. In closing, what is perhaps most powerful about Non-Legality in International Law is" /> <meta property="article:author" content="https://pucrj.academia.edu/RobertoYamato" /> <meta name="description" content="there for others to take things forward, but one is left with the feeling that Professor Johns would have some very interesting things to say about these questions. In closing, what is perhaps most powerful about Non-Legality in International Law is" /> <meta name="robots" content="noindex" /> <title>On the Question of the Negative and the Politics of International Legal Language. Fleur Johns,Non-Legality in International Law: Unruly Law,Cambridge,Cambridge University Press,2013, 259 pp., ISBN9781107014015 | Roberto Yamato - Academia.edu</title> <link rel="canonical" href="https://www.academia.edu/93252306/On_the_Question_of_the_Negative_and_the_Politics_of_International_Legal_Language_Fleur_Johns_Non_Legality_in_International_Law_Unruly_Law_Cambridge_Cambridge_University_Press_2013_259_pp_ISBN9781107014015" /> <script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-5VKX33P2DS"></script> <script> window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-5VKX33P2DS', { cookie_domain: 'academia.edu', send_page_view: false, }); gtag('event', 'page_view', { 'controller': "single_work", 'action': "show", 'controller_action': 'single_work#show', 'logged_in': 'false', 'edge': 'unknown', // Send nil if there is no A/B test bucket, in case some records get logged // with missing data - that way we can distinguish between the two cases. // ab_test_bucket should be of the form <ab_test_name>:<bucket> 'ab_test_bucket': null, }) </script> <script> var $controller_name = 'single_work'; var $action_name = "show"; var $rails_env = 'production'; var $app_rev = '49879c2402910372f4abc62630a427bbe033d190'; var $domain = 'academia.edu'; var $app_host = "academia.edu"; var $asset_host = "academia-assets.com"; var $start_time = new Date().getTime(); var $recaptcha_key = "6LdxlRMTAAAAADnu_zyLhLg0YF9uACwz78shpjJB"; var $recaptcha_invisible_key = "6Lf3KHUUAAAAACggoMpmGJdQDtiyrjVlvGJ6BbAj"; var $disableClientRecordHit = false; </script> <script> window.require = { config: function() { return function() {} } } </script> <script> window.Aedu = window.Aedu || {}; window.Aedu.hit_data = null; window.Aedu.serverRenderTime = new Date(1732438689000); window.Aedu.timeDifference = new Date().getTime() - 1732438689000; </script> <script type="application/ld+json">{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"ScholarlyArticle","abstract":"there for others to take things forward, but one is left with the feeling that Professor Johns would have some very interesting things to say about these questions. In closing, what is perhaps most powerful about Non-Legality in International Law is that its problematization of the distinction between law and its outside, its exposure of law’s evanescence, and its concern with responsibility in situated instances is achieved not at some high level of abstraction but in descriptive accounts of the day-to-day life of international legal practice. The force of its critique does not depend on the author nor those she might seek to inspire adopting an impossible point of detachment from the daily life of international legal practice within which they find themselves. Unusually, the messiness of real life poses no danger to a theoretical position which is sophisticated yet nimble enough to accommodate it. The case studies explored are not just evocations of the need to critically engage but are also themselves ‘tactical engagements’ with international legal practice and thought; engagements undertaken ‘in a posture of immersion and complicity’ where attention may be drawn to problems created by the work of international law and lawyers ‘without laying claim to a vantage point of rectitude or taintlessness’ (p. 28). In this, the book is an exemplar of what it might be possible to think in international law and invites further reflection on what it might be possible to do.","author":[{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Person","name":"Roberto Yamato"}],"contributor":[],"dateCreated":"2022-12-19","dateModified":"2022-12-19","datePublished":"2014-01-01","headline":"On the Question of the Negative and the Politics of International Legal Language. Fleur Johns,Non-Legality in International Law: Unruly Law,Cambridge,Cambridge University Press,2013, 259 pp., ISBN9781107014015","inLanguage":"en","keywords":["Sociology","Law","Political Science","Politics","Principle of Legality"],"locationCreated":null,"publication":"Leiden Journal of International Law","publisher":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Organization","name":"Cambridge University Press (CUP)"},"image":null,"thumbnailUrl":null,"url":"https://www.academia.edu/93252306/On_the_Question_of_the_Negative_and_the_Politics_of_International_Legal_Language_Fleur_Johns_Non_Legality_in_International_Law_Unruly_Law_Cambridge_Cambridge_University_Press_2013_259_pp_ISBN9781107014015","sourceOrganization":[{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"EducationalOrganization","name":"pucrj"}]}</script><link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="//a.academia-assets.com/assets/single_work_page/loswp-352e32ba4e89304dc0b4fa5b3952eef2198174c54cdb79066bc62e91c68a1a91.css" /><link 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{"work":{"id":93252306,"created_at":"2022-12-19T06:39:22.892-08:00","from_world_paper_id":223248209,"updated_at":"2022-12-19T07:04:18.360-08:00","_data":{"abstract":"there for others to take things forward, but one is left with the feeling that Professor Johns would have some very interesting things to say about these questions. In closing, what is perhaps most powerful about Non-Legality in International Law is that its problematization of the distinction between law and its outside, its exposure of law’s evanescence, and its concern with responsibility in situated instances is achieved not at some high level of abstraction but in descriptive accounts of the day-to-day life of international legal practice. The force of its critique does not depend on the author nor those she might seek to inspire adopting an impossible point of detachment from the daily life of international legal practice within which they find themselves. Unusually, the messiness of real life poses no danger to a theoretical position which is sophisticated yet nimble enough to accommodate it. The case studies explored are not just evocations of the need to critically engage but are also themselves ‘tactical engagements’ with international legal practice and thought; engagements undertaken ‘in a posture of immersion and complicity’ where attention may be drawn to problems created by the work of international law and lawyers ‘without laying claim to a vantage point of rectitude or taintlessness’ (p. 28). In this, the book is an exemplar of what it might be possible to think in international law and invites further reflection on what it might be possible to do.","publisher":"Cambridge University Press (CUP)","publication_date":"2014,,","publication_name":"Leiden Journal of International Law"},"document_type":"paper","pre_hit_view_count_baseline":null,"quality":null,"language":"en","title":"On the Question of the Negative and the Politics of International Legal Language. Fleur Johns,Non-Legality in International Law: Unruly Law,Cambridge,Cambridge University Press,2013, 259 pp., ISBN9781107014015","broadcastable":false,"draft":null,"has_indexable_attachment":null,"indexable":true}}["work"]; window.loswp.workCoauthors = [45669935]; window.loswp.locale = "en"; window.loswp.countryCode = "SG"; window.loswp.cwvAbTestBucket = ""; window.loswp.designVariant = "grid"; window.loswp.fullPageMobileSutdModalVariant = "full_page_mobile_sutd_modal"; window.loswp.useOptimizedScribd4genScript = false; window.loswp.appleClientId = 'edu.academia.applesignon';</script><script defer="" src="https://accounts.google.com/gsi/client"></script><div class="loswp-grid--container"><div data-auto_select="false" data-client_id="331998490334-rsn3chp12mbkiqhl6e7lu2q0mlbu0f1b" data-landing_url="https://www.academia.edu/93252306/On_the_Question_of_the_Negative_and_the_Politics_of_International_Legal_Language_Fleur_Johns_Non_Legality_in_International_Law_Unruly_Law_Cambridge_Cambridge_University_Press_2013_259_pp_ISBN9781107014015" data-login_uri="https://www.academia.edu/registrations/google_one_tap" data-moment_callback="onGoogleOneTapEvent" id="g_id_onload"></div><div class="above-fold js-swp-splash-above-fold"><div class="work-card--container js-swp-control-work-card" data-entity-id="93252306"><div class="work-cover--wrapper"><div class="work-cover--container"><div class="work-cover--no-attachment-container js-swp-splash-paper-cover"><div class="work-cover--file-icon-wrapper"><img alt="paper cover icon" src="//a.academia-assets.com/images/single_work_splash/adobe.icon.svg" /></div><div class="work-cover--title js-swp-splash-paper-cover-page-title">On the Question of the Negative and the Politics of International Legal Language. Fleur Johns,Non-Legality in International Law: Unruly Law,Cambridge,Cambridge University Press,2013, 259 pp., ISBN9781107014015</div><br /><div style="margin-top: 170px"><button class="work-cover--request-pdf-button js-request-pdf-button"><svg style="width: 14px; margin-right: 8px;" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" data-prefix="fas" data-icon="envelope" class="svg-inline--fa fa-envelope fa-w-16" role="img" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 512 512"><path fill="currentColor" d="M502.3 190.8c3.9-3.1 9.7-.2 9.7 4.7V400c0 26.5-21.5 48-48 48H48c-26.5 0-48-21.5-48-48V195.6c0-5 5.7-7.8 9.7-4.7 22.4 17.4 52.1 39.5 154.1 113.6 21.1 15.4 56.7 47.8 92.2 47.6 35.7.3 72-32.8 92.3-47.6 102-74.1 131.6-96.3 154-113.7zM256 320c23.2.4 56.6-29.2 73.4-41.4 132.7-96.3 142.8-104.7 173.4-128.7 5.8-4.5 9.2-11.5 9.2-18.9v-19c0-26.5-21.5-48-48-48H48C21.5 64 0 85.5 0 112v19c0 7.4 3.4 14.3 9.2 18.9 30.6 23.9 40.7 32.4 173.4 128.7 16.8 12.2 50.2 41.8 73.4 41.4z"></path></svg>Request PDF</button></div></div></div></div><div class="work-card--content"><h1 class="work-card--title">On the Question of the Negative and the Politics of International Legal Language. Fleur Johns,Non-Legality in International Law: Unruly Law,Cambridge,Cambridge University Press,2013, 259 pp., ISBN9781107014015</h1><div class="work-card--pub-info">Leiden Journal of International Law, 2014</div><a class="js-profile-link work-card--single-author" data-has-card-for-user="45669935" href="https://pucrj.academia.edu/RobertoYamato?swp=tc-au-93252306"><div class="work-card--single-author-photo"><img class="Avatar--circle s65 Avatar--circle s65 Avatar--xxxs" alt="Roberto Yamato" shape="circle" border="0" onerror="if (this.src != '//a.academia-assets.com/images/s65_no_pic.png') this.src = '//a.academia-assets.com/images/s65_no_pic.png';" width="65" height="65" src="https://0.academia-photos.com/45669935/104097316/93280887/s65_roberto.yamato.jpeg" /></div><div class="work-card--author-name-wrapper" style="max-width: 125px; font-weight: 500; color: #4b4b4b;"><div class="u-textTruncate"><span itemprop="author">Roberto Yamato</span></div></div></a><script data-card-contents-for-user="45669935" type="text/json">{"id":45669935,"first_name":"Roberto","middle_initials":null,"last_name":"Yamato","page_name":"RobertoYamato","domain_name":"pucrj","created_at":"2016-03-23T08:41:21.921-07:00","display_name":"Roberto Yamato","url":"https://pucrj.academia.edu/RobertoYamato","photo":"https://0.academia-photos.com/45669935/104097316/93280887/s65_roberto.yamato.jpeg","has_photo":true,"department":{"id":381334,"name":"Instituto de Relações Internacionais","url":"https://pucrj.academia.edu/Departments/Instituto_de_Rela%C3%A7%C3%B5es_Internacionais/Documents","university":{"id":7256,"name":"Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro","url":"https://pucrj.academia.edu/"}},"position":"Faculty Member","position_id":1,"interests":[{"id":38429,"name":"Global South","url":"https://www.academia.edu/Documents/in/Global_South"},{"id":217799,"name":"Loic Wacquant","url":"https://www.academia.edu/Documents/in/Loic_Wacquant"},{"id":31213,"name":"International political sociology","url":"https://www.academia.edu/Documents/in/International_political_sociology"},{"id":18794,"name":"Critical international political economy","url":"https://www.academia.edu/Documents/in/Critical_international_political_economy"},{"id":220464,"name":"Politics and International relations","url":"https://www.academia.edu/Documents/in/Politics_and_International_relations"}]}</script><div class="work-card--no-attachment-details"><div style="font-weight: 700; font-size: 14px;">Abstract</div><div class="work-card--abstract js-swp-splash-abstract">there for others to take things forward, but one is left with the feeling that Professor Johns would have some very interesting things to say about these questions. In closing, what is perhaps most powerful about Non-Legality in International Law is that its problematization of the distinction between law and its outside, its exposure of law’s evanescence, and its concern with responsibility in situated instances is achieved not at some high level of abstraction but in descriptive accounts of the day-to-day life of international legal practice. The force of its critique does not depend on the author nor those she might seek to inspire adopting an impossible point of detachment from the daily life of international legal practice within which they find themselves. Unusually, the messiness of real life poses no danger to a theoretical position which is sophisticated yet nimble enough to accommodate it. The case studies explored are not just evocations of the need to critically engage but are also themselves ‘tactical engagements’ with international legal practice and thought; engagements undertaken ‘in a posture of immersion and complicity’ where attention may be drawn to problems created by the work of international law and lawyers ‘without laying claim to a vantage point of rectitude or taintlessness’ (p. 28). In this, the book is an exemplar of what it might be possible to think in international law and invites further reflection on what it might be possible to do.</div></div><div class="request-upload--container"><p class="request-upload--title">Roberto Yamato hasn't uploaded this paper.</p><div class="request-upload--info-text"><svg aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" data-prefix="fas" data-icon="info-circle" class="request-upload--info-icon svg-inline--fa fa-info-circle fa-w-16" role="img" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 512 512"><path fill="currentColor" d="M256 8C119.043 8 8 119.083 8 256c0 136.997 111.043 248 248 248s248-111.003 248-248C504 119.083 392.957 8 256 8zm0 110c23.196 0 42 18.804 42 42s-18.804 42-42 42-42-18.804-42-42 18.804-42 42-42zm56 254c0 6.627-5.373 12-12 12h-88c-6.627 0-12-5.373-12-12v-24c0-6.627 5.373-12 12-12h12v-64h-12c-6.627 0-12-5.373-12-12v-24c0-6.627 5.373-12 12-12h64c6.627 0 12 5.373 12 12v100h12c6.627 0 12 5.373 12 12v24z"></path></svg><p class="no-margin hide-on-small-mobile">Let Roberto know you want this paper to be uploaded.</p><p class="no-margin hide-above-small-mobile">Ask for this paper to be uploaded.</p></div><button class="work-cover--request-pdf-button small js-request-pdf-button hide-on-desktop"><svg style="width: 14px; 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