This interdisciplinary paper examines the influence and interpretation of international law in the use of force by an important but understudied country, Britain, during one of the most significant conflicts since 1945: the Korean War of 1950–53. Through innovative application of sociological theories in International Law [IL] and International Relations [IR], and rigorous qualitative analysis of declassified documents, I advance a two-pronged argument. First, contrary to what some dominant IR perspectives might predict, Britain's involvement in the war suggests that international law can play four underappreciated roles when states use force: (1) it helps constitute the identity of actors; (2) it helps regulate their conduct; (3) it permits and legitimates certain actions; and (4) it structures the process by which agents seek to develop new rules. However, contrary to what many IL approaches might predict, it is unclear whether these effects are ultimately attributable to an obligatory quality in law.

中文翻译：

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在战争中不受约束？国际法与英国参与朝鲜战争

这篇跨学科论文探讨了在 1945 年以来最重要的冲突之一：1950-53 年朝鲜战争期间，一个重要但未被充分研究的国家英国在使用武力方面的影响和解释。通过社会学理论在国际法 [IL] 和国际关系 [IR] 中的创新应用，以及对解密文件的严格定性分析，我提出了一个两管齐下的论点。首先，与某些主流国际关系观点可能预测的相反，英国卷入战争表明，当国家使用武力时，国际法可以发挥四个被低估的作用：（1）它有助于构成行为者的身份；（二）有利于规范其行为；(3) 它允许某些行为并使某些行为合法化；(4) 它构建了代理人寻求制定新规则的过程。然而，与许多 IL 方法可能预测的相反，尚不清楚这些影响是否最终归因于法律的强制性质量。