Abstract
The history of the relationship between the United States and international law and organization has always been a love-hate one. While historically the U.S. has unquestionably been one of the strongest proponents of the development of international organizations such as the United Nations (Rubenfeld, p.22), it appears that as soon as these organizations start to take a life of their own, especially when they develop more binding international law mechanisms, discontent grows in the United States, criticizing various aspects of the international system. As the world currently moves towards growing multilateralism, especially in a regional context, and as international law seeps slowly but surely into the daily relations between States and even between individuals, the United States is often seen, accurately or not, as the most reluctant player in the global game, maybe also because American critics are the most vocal in their opposition to new trends in international regulatory systems.
