By permission of the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University, from the “Stanford Journal of International Law” at 59 STAN. J. INT’L L. 131 (2023). For information visit: https://law.stanford.edu/stanford-journal-of-international-law-sjil/. CASCADING CONSEQUENCES OF SINKING STATES MELISSA STEWART* Sea level rise due to climate change and the impacts of this rise on small island states are some of the most pressing emerging issues in international law. This articleexamines the phenomenon of sinking states-low-lying island states at risk of the submergence of the entirety of their territorydue to sea level rise. The existence of sinking states raises complex andprofound questions related to statehood, nationality, and human rights, to which internationallaw currentlyprovides no sufficient answer. This Article addresses the cascading consequences of sinking states. It evaluates proposalsfor addressing the phenomenon and analyzes the future implications of these potentialsolutions. The cascadingconsequences of sinking states include underminingthe principlesof the sovereign equality of states and the right to self-determination, redefining statehoodin a manner that may unjustly exclude othersimilarlysituated nations andpeoples, exacerbatinghumanitarian crises relatedto climate change, andundermining the international legal order. This Article is the first to examine what sinking states and the cascading consequences of their existence reveal about cracks in the foundation of international law. Specifically, sinking states reveal weaknesses in the state-centric model of internationallaw and exemply the peril of a retreatfrom the progressive development of a morejust legalframework. Sinking states serve as a metaphorfor internationallaw and the whole of humanity. If wefail to meet the urgency of the moment with a radicalnew vision for our collective security, we risk our own potentialdemise. Assistant Professor of Law, University of Hawai'i at Manoa, William S. Richardson School of Law. I am grateful to Haley Anderson, Julian Arato, Evan Bernick, Jacob Charles, Harlan Cohen, Melissa J. Durke, Basak Etkin, Michael Gerrard, Alex Green, Adil Haque, Steve Koh, Ian Kysel, Ryan Liss, David Luban, Jane McAdam, Naomi Mezey, Margherita Melillo, Sherally Munshi, Mark Nevitt, Bernard Oxman, Guillermo Garcia Sanchez, Andrew Schoenholtz, Louis Michael Seidman, David Simon, Kevin Tobia, Carlos Vazquez, and Robin West for their invaluable comments, suggestions, and conversations on this project. I also want to thank those who read earlier drafts and offered comments at the American Society of International Law's Research Forum, the Junior International Law Scholars Association Summer Workshop and Winter Conference, the Georgetown Law Fellows Workshop, and the University of Hawai'i Law Faculty Workshop. I am also grateful to Colin Rivera for his superb research assistance and the excellent librarians at the Georgetown Law Library and the Tyringham Public Library for tracking down hard to find sources. All errors and omissions are my own. 131 59 STAN. J. INT'L L. 2 (2023) Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4321214