A Modern Introduction to International Law by the late Professor Michael Akehurst was first published in 1970. Passing through six editions, it became a classic among student textbooks within departments of law and political science alike and it has been translated into Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese and Chinese. Since the last edition in 1987, however, due to the author’s death, the text has been merely reprinted without change and, in view of the manifold new developments in international law and international relations in the ten years that have passed since the sixth edition, especially after the end of the Cold War, it became outdated. While I have therefore sought to build.
