The evolution of international law

States have made and implemented international law as a foundation for world order since 1648 based on a multiplicity of sovereign states with responsibilities to each other and, eventually to the people and resources they governed. With the increase in cross-border interactions and interests, states used international law to create international organizations (IOs). They added to international law’s capacity, which has created controversy when IOs act independently of their member states, and when norm development and implementation interact with domestic public and private discourse and decision-making. International law struggles in a global political environment in which its impact on international behavior and its coherence and authority as a legal system are challenged. It has also not yet responded to the global reality of multilevel, multisector stakeholders, sources of authority, and capacity; it has therefore under-utilized those elements in the making and implementation of international obligations