This innovative and systematic work on the political and ethical dimensions of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is the first comprehensive attempt to situate the politics of the ICC both theoretically and practically. Steering a new path between conventional approaches that stress the formal link between legitimacy and legal neutrality, and unconventional approaches that treat legitimacy and politics as inextricable elements of a repressive international legal order, Steven C. Roach formulates the concept of political legalism, which calls for a self-directed and engaged application of the legal rules and principles of the ICC Statute. Politicizing the International Criminal Court is a must-read for scholars, students, and policymakers interested in the dynamics of this important international institution.