Models of Administrative Internalization Domestic Bureaucratic Agencies and the Implementation of International Law

Abstract

In recent years, scholarship has begun to analyze the different forms whereby international laws are implemented in domestic settings. This article seeks to add another perspective to that enterprise. I suggest that insufficient attention has been paid to the potentially major contribution that domestic administrative agencies can make to the implementation of international law. Based on a number of case studies, I offer a model of bureaucratic internalization, analyzing the variables that affect the level of implementation of international law by administrative bodies. The model posits three possible paths to implementation: Harmony - international law is congruent with domestic law; Insulation - administrative agencies are barred by domestic politicians from interacting with international law; and Dialogue - international law interacts with domestic law. I argue that it is in situations of Dialogue that administrators play a major role in implementation, by both interpreting international law and acting as a vehicle of public instruction as to its meaning.