The Great Powers and Classical International Law; Case Study, England

In the opinion of many scholars, international law has grown and formed in the pursuit of the goals of the great powers in the recent century. On this basis, the role of the great powers in the formation and development of international law is somewhat vague and contradictory. This is the question to consider: Why and how great powers of the international system are determinative in the formation and expansion of international law? Although governments seem to be legally equal, but the great powers have a key role in shaping and expanding international law through institutionalization, treaty formulation, interpretation of laws and by normalization, due to their different capacities. Given that the great powers want to maintain the rules governing the international order to establish their position, it is considered to create and extend legal rules in their interests. Because legal rules and international institutions can reduce the cost of maintaining the system and increase the legitimacy of the actions of great powers. So the present study claims great powers are shaper, stabilizers and advocates of legal rule. In this way, the present study intends to study the role of international powers in the creation and expansion of international law based on a descriptive-analytical method and using historical evidence and utilizing library practices.