As its title indicates, this book provides an introduction to the study of international law. With a chapter entitled “Is international law really law?”, Dr Akehurst commences with an examination of the nature of international law, wishing to dispel what he describes as the “popular scepticism” about international law being regarded as “real” law. The next chapter moves on to look at the historical and political factors which have influenced the development of international law and which explain the different attitudes of certain groups of states to both general and particular issues of international law. This introduction to the existence