Law without Force: The Function of Politics in International Law

A landmark in political and social philosophy, Law Without Force, is as relevant today as when it was first published, and commands the attention of all concerned with the law of nations. The book incisively reviews the relation between traditional international law and the changing structure of international politics -- concluding that the tradition system of law has operated as an agency of disharmony and conflict. It provides in detail the reasoning behind Niemeyer's rejection of a foreign policy based on morality and his distinction between authoritarian and totalitarian governments.

Gerhart Niemeyer was for many years a professor of political theory at the University of Notre Dame.