International Legal Theory and the Cognitive Turn

Cognitive and behavioural studies are making inroads into international law and are increasingly used in policymaking, yet their implications for international legal theory remain under-explored. This book systematically analyses how insights gained from the cognitive sciences can influence different theoretical approaches to international law.

Anne van Aaken is the Chair for Law and Economics, Legal Theory, Public International Law, and European Law at the University of Hamburg, and Co-Director of the Institute of Law and Economics. Previously, she was the Alexander von Humboldt Professor at the University of Hamburg, a Professor at St. Gallen University, and a Senior Researcher at two Max Planck Institutes. Anne also served as Vice-President of the European Society of International Law (ESIL) and chaired the Research Council at the European University Institute (EUI). She has consulted for several organisations including the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the United Nations. And she has served as General Editor of the Journal of International Dispute Settlement and on the editorial boards of several prestigious journals, including the American Journal of International Law. Her research focuses on legal theory, international law, and behavioural approaches to law.
Moshe Hirsch is the Emilio Von Hofmannsthal Professor of Law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Co-Director of the International Law Forum at the Hebrew University Law Faculty. A significant part of his publications involves theoretical and interdisciplinary research that draws, inter alia, on sociological theories, cognitive studies, political economy, game theory, and international relations theory. His recent publications include Invitation to the Sociology of International Law (OUP, 2015), Research Handbook on the Sociology of International Law (Edward Elgar, 2018, co-edited with Andrew Lang), and International Law's Invisible Frames: Social Cognition and Knowledge Production in International Legal Processes (OUP, 2021, co-edited with Andrea Bianchi).