In the Shadow of International Law: Secrecy and Regime Change in the Postwar World (Oxford University Press, 2020)
In the Shadow of International Law explores one of the most controversial forms of secret statecraft: the use of covert action to change or overthrow foreign regimes. Drawing from a broad range of cases of US-backed regime change during the Cold War, Michael Poznansky develops a legal theory of covert intervention to explain why leaders sometimes turn to secret methods when toppling foreign governments, rather than using overt tools to accomplish the same objective. He highlights the surprising role that international law plays in these decisions and finds that once the nonintervention principle—which proscribes violations of sovereignty—was codified in the mid-twentieth century, states became more reluctant to pursue overt regime change unless they had proper cause. Without a legal exemption to nonintervention such as a credible self-defense claim or authorization from an international body, states were more likely to attempt regime change covertly to conceal brazen violations of international law.
Shining a light on the secret underpinnings of the liberal international order, the conduct of foreign-imposed regime change, and the impact of international law on state behavior, Poznansky speaks to the consequences of America abandoning its role as the steward of the postwar order, as well as the promise and peril of promoting new rules and norms in cyberspace.
"In this volume, Michael Poznansky has taken on the difficult research subject of covert action-secret intervention by one state into the affairs of another… This book is well-researched and essential reading for anyone interested in the hidden side of American foreign policy." -Loch K. Johnson
"Deeply researched and engagingly written, In the Shadow of International Law advances our understandings of the politics of international law as well as those of secret and not-so-secret interventions." -Tanisha Fazal
“This fascinating book argues that the growth of international law changed how powerful states decided to intervene in weaker ones.... Poznansky presents archival evidence of officials worrying―to various degrees―about violating international law, pushing decision-makers to pursue covert rather than overt military action." -G. John Ikenberry
"Covert action is seductive to leaders who want to eliminate their enemies without going to war. Covert action is also paradoxical, as Michael Poznansky argues in this deeply researched and provocative new book. Leaders turn to covert regime change only when they cannot justify military intervention under international law. Strangely, their respect for the law causes them to break it." -Joshua Rovner
"Michael Poznansky wrote an important book on the role of international law in decision-making about the use of force. It is a book all students who are interested in international security and foreign policy should read. Even if some of us are skeptical about the restraining effect of international law on leaders' decisions, In the Shadow of International Law offers a compelling theory and robust evidence to appreciate its importance." -Keren Yarhi-Milo