International law faces the question of whether in fact it is a law at all. The lack of government to enforce the law as there is in a domestic government leaves a foggy area with a number of possible outcomes, either war or peace between sovereign states. It is alleged that only powerful states have a say in implementing the law and that less fortunate states have to comply. Despite this, international law is most of the time followed. It is derived from customary practices that all is beneficial to the states interest to preserve life, resources, economy, and trade, which ultimately makes everyone better off. The number of different variables that affect state behavior can be traced back to key theories such as the rational and liberal persuasive explanations. While the rational perspective aligns closer to the explanation of compliance, there is no single theory that is able to fully explain why states are compelled to follow legal rules and norms. The most acceptable explanations can be produced by an ongoing process that considers all variables such as the increasing interaction between states through globalization and trade, asymmetry factors, self-interest, regime type, and the international framework. These all come together to construct an argument of how states behave with one
International law faces the question of whether in fact it is a law at all. The lack of government to enforce the law as there is in a domestic government leaves a foggy area with a number of possible outcomes, either war or peace between sovereign states. It is alleged that only powerful states have a say in implementing the law and that less fortunate states have to comply. Despite this, international law is most of the time followed. It is derived from customary practices that all is beneficial to the states interest to preserve life, resources, economy, and trade, which ultimately makes everyone better off. The number of different variables that affect state behavior can be traced back to key theories such as the rational and liberal persuasive explanations. While the rational perspective aligns closer to the explanation of compliance, there is no single theory that is able to fully explain why states are compelled to follow legal rules and norms. The most acceptable explanations can be produced by an ongoing process that considers all variables such as the increasing interaction between states through globalization and trade, asymmetry factors, self-interest, regime type, and the international framework. These all come together to construct an argument of how states behave with one