Studying the Critical Thoughts of the “New Stream” School in International Law

The Critical Studies Movement in law and the New Stream in international law are emerging movements that seek to criticize the status quo and to design new foundations in order to achieve the desired condition. In the present research, the most important aspects of the critique of the New Stream of international law’s mainstream have been expressed in order to familiarize the reader with the critical logic of this movement and the possibility of structural reform of international law in light of critical thinking has been assessed. Hence, the main question of the present research is whether the new stream has provided a deconstructing criticism to the roots, the structure and nature of international law that on the one hand, does not lead to radical skepticism and nihilism, and on the other hand, provides a more positive insight into the desired status of international law. By examining the main areas of the critique of the New Stream, it is concluded that although the intellectuals of this movement were incapable of providing a positive insight into international law, by creating a kind of critical epistemology and promoting the position of rational reasoning, they are quite distinct from radical skepticism and epistemic absurdity.