ABSTRACT
There is a normative debate, in which some people are loosely in favor of all non-governmental organizations, some wish to define “true” NGOs as the only ones worthy of support, and some are hostile to all NGOs, identifying them as participants in an unjust social and political system. There is also a second, quite separate, analytical debate over the question whether NGOs need to be included in the study of international relations. In this chapter, the question will be examined from the perspective of international law and in the next chapter from the perspectives of political science and sociology. International law was for three centuries, from the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, defined simply as the law covering the relations between states. It is a radical challenge to conservative academics and conservative practitioners to discuss the status of NGOs. It is in the nature of lawyers to emphasize the historical traditions on which law is based, the relevance today of precedents from the past, certainty in its interpretation, and the need for continuity in its practice. Nevertheless, law is not static and over time radical changes can occur. It is now absolutely incontestable that since the Second World War international law has evolved to include legal persons other than states. The question is whether the evolution has gone so far as to include NGOs.
