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12 - Power, Persuasion, and Authority

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 March 2024

Andrea Bianchi
Affiliation:
Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva
Fuad Zarbiyev
Affiliation:
Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva
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Summary

This chapter looks at interpretation as a game aimed at persuading an audience and securing its adherence to a given interpretation. Like the other chapters, it analyses certain elements that cannot be traced back to or explained by the rules of interpretation of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. Its focus is on the broader concepts of persuasion, audience, and interpretive acceptability. It argues that the acceptability (or unacceptability) of a certain interpretation is not inherent in the interpretation itself, but rather hinges on the social environment where the interpretation is articulated or received. This is why the success of a certain interpretation can be measured, to a large extent, by its ability to persuade the relevant audience. The latter, in turn, is dependent on the interpretive authority wielded by the actors involved in the process and on the latent power structures underlying the interpretative game. Interpretation constitutes a fight to speak authoritatively in and for the discipline, a process in which not all voices carry the same weight, and where different interpretive strategies can be framed as tools to control the discursive politics of interpretation in international law.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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  • Power, Persuasion, and Authority
  • Andrea Bianchi, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva, Fuad Zarbiyev, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva
  • Book: Demystifying Treaty Interpretation
  • Online publication: 07 March 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108769730.013
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  • Power, Persuasion, and Authority
  • Andrea Bianchi, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva, Fuad Zarbiyev, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva
  • Book: Demystifying Treaty Interpretation
  • Online publication: 07 March 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108769730.013
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Power, Persuasion, and Authority
  • Andrea Bianchi, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva, Fuad Zarbiyev, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva
  • Book: Demystifying Treaty Interpretation
  • Online publication: 07 March 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108769730.013
Available formats
×