The Futility of Unification and Harmonization in International ...

40have proven that one can learn a lot by isolating the lawmaking process and then looking at its effecton what gets produced. Those of us who work on international law problems need to follow theirlead.Finally, my desire to disrupt our complacency about the unification project should not be mistakenfor an effort to trash the serious and important work of those engaged in that process. The projectdeserves a critique precisely because it lies at the center of a sustained practical effort to improveinternational law. It is the nobility of the project’s aspirations that makes a critical analysis bothchallenging and worthwhile. My critique, if it succeeds, should not end that effort. At best, it willmove the agenda.