Countering mainstream theories, this book focuses on the expanding institutionalisation of international law.

1. Introduction: the changing practices of international law Thomas Gammeltoft-Hansen and Tanja Aalberts; 2. Sovereignty games, law and politics in world society Tanja Aalberts and Thomas Gammeltoft-Hansen; 3. Abandonment, construction and denial: the formation of a zone Margareta Brummer; 4. Backlash and state strategies in international investment law Malcolm Langford, Daniel Behn and Ole Kristian Fauchald; 5. 'Part of the game': government strategies against European litigation concerning migrant rights Moritz Baumgärtel; 6. The disaggregated law of global mass surveillance Itamar Mann; 7. Legalisation in international environmental law Jaye Ellis; 8. Search and rescue as a geopolitics of international law Thomas Gammeltoft-Hansen and Tanja Aalberts; 9. Conclusion: the dark side of legalisation Tanja Aalberts and Thomas Gammeltoft-Hansen.