How has the International Criminal Court (ICC) been able to evolve into a fairly effective, albeit relatively untested multi-level model of global governance? This volume explores this question and the novel predicament it represents for understanding the challenges of extending globalgovernance and promoting global justice. It focuses on the novel dynamics and design of the ICC and the role played by realpolitik factors such as the UN Security veto and intra-state competition in shaping and testing the cosmopolitan dimensions of the Court. To study these focal points and tounderstand the political challenges shaping the policies of the ICC, the book adopts a synergistic model based on four levels of responsibility, ranging from the state's negative responsibility not to harm its own citizens to the positive, open-ended global responsibility of the ICC Prosecutor. Themodel offers the basis of the book's cutting-edge, innovative approach, a "cosmopolitan political realism" , which encompasses and interweaves four International Relations theoretical perspectives: rationalism, constructivism, communicative action theory, and cosmopolitanism. Guiding this model isthe metaphor of the switch levers of train tracks, in which the Prosecutor and Judges serve as the agents switching (and criss-crossing) the tracks of realpolitik and cosmopolitanism. With this visual aid, the volume shows just how the ICC has become one of the most intriguing points of intersectionbetween law, politics, and ethics.

The impact of the writings and activities of Professor Blishchenko on the development of international criminal law is widely recognised and this volume is a welldeserved demonstration of respect from an impressive line-up of international legal scholars. The collection of essays signals a cooperative interaction between academics and practitioners. As the first Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, I believe the engagement of academic communities with the operational problems of the Court will be invaluable, particularly by introducing new theoretical frameworks to explain and confront the complicated challenges that the implementation of the Rome Statute presents.

This volume brings together some of the best recent work by philosophers and legal theorists on the conceptual and normative grounding of international criminal law. Philosophers and other theorists are only just beginning to write about the emerging field of international criminal law. International law has taken a significant turn in recent years. Rather than being primarily concerned with the relations of states, one significant branch of international law – namely, international criminal law – now concerns the relations of individuals, specifically, the responsibility of individuals for mass atrocities. As with any such change, there are many questions and problems that arise. In our book, we begin with considerations of the conflict between state sovereignty and universal jurisdiction; examine thorny issues raised when the victims or the perpetrators of international crimes are groups or corporations; proceed through various specific questions related to justice and human rights; and conclude with chapters on how international criminal trials should be seen in terms of theories of punishment and reconciliation. Throughout, these chapters relate thinking in political philosophy, ethics, and jurisprudence to cases and issues in the practice of international criminal law