Martti Koskenniemi, The Gentle Civilizer of Nations:The Rise and Fall of International law 1870-1960 (Cambridge University Press. 2002, pp.569) is an expansion of the Laiterpacht Lectures he gave at the University of Cambridge, Koskenniemi is a Professor of International Law at the University if Helsinki and a member of the Global Law School faculty at New York University. I wish John Brademas would tell us about that school. Presumably "International law" suggests law among nations, while "global" law would embrace all kinds of law, including civil.cases.
The word "Fall" in the title should not encourage those who delight in denying the existence of international law. On the contrary, it was the breakdown of international law which permitted World Wars I and II. Indeed, the first chapter is titled "The legal conscience of the civilized world". The account of international law is arranged partly by nations: there are chapters on Germany, France, Great Britain and the US. Readers will choose whatever topic interests them most, e.g. Nuremberg. On the cover there is a reproduction of Max Ernst's painting "Europe after the ruin". The implication is clear. If international law fails, this is what you get.
