ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates whether the lack of a robust theory of international law completely blocks from relying on Spinoza's political philosophy in construing answers to the questions international law and legal scholarship traditionally are supposed to tackle. It formulates an answer to these questions that affirms the usefulness of Spinoza's political philosophy as a means for advancing a productive theorization of international law. The chapter argues that this political philosophy may contribute to our understanding of international law by way of instigating a critical examination of the naturalness by which attempts to understand human legal practices affirm a teleological order and/or an idea of natural progression. It also argues that rather than offering a framework for an alternative or novel 'theory' of international law, Spinoza's political philosophy can facilitate a considered and productive understanding of the effects of the theorizations of international law which are already (implicitly) present within existing descriptions of international law.
