Relationships among states and substate actors are now interactive and adaptive, but discussions of these relationships often fail to grasp that changed reality. Instead, the language of treaties and international organizations continues to shape most thinking about international law. States and other formal institutions play the primary roles in creating, enacting and giving force to these texts, so they obviously carry some form of authority or decisional weight. As a result, these formal “products” are the natural focus of attention, and they are used as reference points by all involved with the issues they treat.