While empirical work on international law issues has lagged compared empirical work in other areas, partly owing to a paucity of helpful data, change is afoot. In The Empirical Turn in International Legal Scholarship, Gregory Shaffer (Minn.) and Tom Ginsburg (Chicago), make the case, describe the recent "turn," and explore the emerging scholarly opportunities. The abstract follows:
"This article presents and assesses a new wave of empirical research on international law. Recent scholarship has moved away from theoretical debates over whether international law 'matters,' and focuses instead on exploring the conditions under which international law is created and produces effects. As this empirical research program has matured, it has allowed for new, mid-level theorizing that we call 'conditional international law theory.'"
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