Abstract

Modern International Law based on the 1648 Peace of Westphalia is originally a local regime forged by Western European nations. In the aftermath of Industrial Revolution, Western European nations acquired advantageous resource shares and positions. With such positions, this local regime has been forcefully sold out to the International society. Willingly or unwillingly, other Nations has been applying and been used to applying this local regime do deal with each other. A local regime has then been a universal one. This regime is built upon a jungle value, which is first come and first served, late come and not served. This regime is applying an exhaustive and short-sighted criterion. Whereas, this regime has gone astray and beencriticized as non-binding. International community has been trapped in a permanent search for power. Such result is deviating from the goal of law for promoting and realizing an order satisfying all people. Due to this deviation, there is a need to examine and consider how the international society as a precondition for international law came into being and has been evolving. Is there still room for international law to develop and get promoted. Is there a need for international order being optimized and changed. The 21stCentury Maritime Silk Road Initiative proposed by President Xi Jinping may be taken as a background and a lens for reconsidering the international law and international system centered on Western Europe.

This book is using the classical approach for research, which is proposing, analyzing and tackling an issue. Chapters 1 to 3 are the first part, chapters 4 to 6 are the second and chapter 7 is the final part.

From chapter 1 to 3, I'm making this argument that existing international system and international law are with a feature of incompleteness. International system stemming from Western Europe is not the final destination of international relations. International law also may get further developed.

Chapter 1 is to outline the course of international system in the aftermath of the Thirty Years War in Western Europe from 1618 to 1648. With the background of the 21stCentury Maritime Silk Road Initiative, I'm to argue that modern International System is fundamentally a limited regime with a strong local feature. Such local feature has deeply impacted upon international political theories, whose credibility has been noticeably undermined. Relations between and among Western European nations have been the only sample for international relations. Democracy has been considered as the only future or even destination for all nations. Western European nations and the European-like nations have been center nations. Taking advantages of technological and resources superiority, European nations have gradually made other nations and new independent ones followers and peripheral countries. The 21stCentury Maritime Silk Road Initiative is providing a different way for the peripheralized non-European nations to participate in international system.

Chapter 2 is to outline the course of the development of modern international law. Interactions among nations bring out an international order or international regime. Common interests of nations within the regime will make common practice and opinions appear, which then may become opinion juris and finally international law. Common interests are a precondition for international law and order. Commonly benefited, nations then will abide by such law and respect the order. By outlining the development of modern international law, I'm arguing that modern international law is inevitably stamped with a local feature due to such feature with modern international system.

Thus in chapter 3, I raise this viewpoint that modern international law is still an incomplete set of rules. There is still space for improving it substantially. International law is based on a basic presumption that is par in parem non habet jurisdiction. International society consists of equal sovereign States not interfering each other. Nonetheless, international law has never been produced by all nations but by some particular ones, or Western civilized nations. Non-Western nations are principally passively accepting such law.

Chapters 4 to 6 are analyzing how the incompleteness of modern international law has been revealing itself.

Chapter 4 is using a international legal philosophical perspective to analyze the deep rooting cause for the incompleteness. As the basic foundation and final criterion for international law, idea of first come and first occupy is a war-like and hostile value. This value is a common value limited within Western Civilized Nations. Whereas, international law is with a serious defect, which is being fundamentally doubted about its binding force.

Chapter 5 is using an approach of text analysis. I decide to select three sectors of international law in this part, which are international economic law, international law of the sea and international environmental protection. With the text analysis, I'm making a point that there is a ten sion between original civilized nations and new emerging powers in the evolving international law. Original civilized nations are attempting to exclude or at least limit the new powers to have their voices channeled into international rules.

Chapter 6 is using a practical perspective to demonstrate the incompleteness of international law. By analyzing cases of international courts, I'm arguing that doctrine of sovereignty equality is principally applied between Western countries.

As the final chapter, chapter 7 is with a purpose for promoting international order and international law with the background of the 21stCentury Maritime Silk Road Initiative. In this chapter, I will point out that the idea of a harmonious world used by the 21stCentury Maritime Silk Road Initiative is fundamentally different from that jungle value in existing international law. China is now a new great power, who should take the responsibility for promoting international system towards a direction of real cooperation among all nations. China is competent to provide new ideologies for the future development of international community. With China's contribution to international community due to the 21stCentury Maritime Silk Road Initiative, international law may find its new dimensions for future development.

A New Great Power should have prepared materially as well as theoretically to be able to become a real Power. According to research, China is the only one among New Great Powers with the potential to promote her capabilities for tackling new issues in international economic and security fields. China should provide new theories and new topics for the development of international system and international law. The 21stCentury Maritime Silk Road Initiative is an appropriate chance for China to demonstrate her will to provide a new choice for the international community. With the need of China's future economic development and promotion of comprehensive national power, China need a peaceful and cooperative world instead of a unsettling and conflicting world. As for the future development of international law, it should not just contend with co-existing of nations and should have striven for regulating nations' comprehensive cooperation and co-progressiveness.