4 Chi J Intl L 223
Eric P. Schwartz

This Perspective focuses on the tension between sovereign prerogatives and deference to multilateral institutions through a discussion of the United States’ involvement with the development of the International Criminal Court. The author, a former Special Assistant to the President and the Senior Director for Multilateral and Humanitarian Affairs at the National Security Council during the Clinton Administration, provides an insider’s perspective on the initial reaction of the administration to the ICC proposal, and describes how the process ultimately concluded in the US signing the treaty while it continued to express serious concerns with the substance of the ICC proposal. The author argues that such “dexterous multilateralism” allows the United States to remain engaged with multilateral institutions and influential in international policymaking. He concludes by recommending that the Bush Administration, notwithstanding its express disapproval of the ICC, continue the process of “dexterous multilateralism” so as not to undermine international institutions while engaging in what may ultimately prove to be a self-defeating approach.