John H. Herz and the international law of the Third Reich.

Abstract

John H. Herz was unusual amongst the founding fathers of international relations in having paid detailed attention to the ideology and international law of the Third Reich in a study published in 1938. This article sets his investigation in the context of the turn away from law in the emerging discipline of international relations and the competing visions of Hans Kelsen and Carl Schmitt. It assesses developments in the international law of the Third Reich during the war years against Herz's own expectation of the emergence of a coherent doctrine, and concludes by suggesting that Herz's defence of international law has much to recommend it.