Universal Subordination to the Rule of Law as a Precondition for the Conceptual Possibility of International Law and the Case for Democratizing the United Nations

Authors

Jarvis J. Lagman

Abstract

This Article is intended to provide a policy framework for encouraging the harmonization of all political systems in the world to adopt the rule of law and democratic principles as the basis for the authority of government. Harmonization in this manner is imperative for two primary reasons: (1) universal subordination to the rule of law is a precondition for conceptual possibility of international law; and (2) the right to self-determination is a fundamental human right whose suppression is in direct violation of well-established international norms, specifically the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Through the staging of transnational democratic elections in non-democratic countries, the democratization of the United Nations would catalyze the harmonization of political systems to adopt the rule of law and democratic principles as the basis for the authority of government by utilizing the mechanics of cultural diffusion to install democratic institutional infrastructure in non-democratic countries and expose such non-democratic societies to the rituals of democratic political culture. In the long-run and without directly displacing existing political hegemonies in violation of the sovereign equality of nations principle, cultural diffusion through the democratization of the United Nations would facilitate the harmonization of political systems in a controlled and peaceful manner, as compared to achieving harmonization through coercive mechanisms, such as the use of extra-national military force. Once harmonization is achieved, the conceptual framework for the conduct of international law would be strengthened and the right to self-determination, as based in international law and unencumbered by potential conflict with the arbitrary fiats of individual political leaders who are not subordinate to the rule of law, could be applied in a manner that institutionalizes the formal equality of political opportunity on a global scale and democratizes global policy outcomes.

Recommended Citation

Lagman, Jarvis J. (2021) "Universal Subordination to the Rule of Law as a Precondition for the Conceptual Possibility of International Law and the Case for Democratizing the United Nations," Florida Journal of International Law: Vol. 27: Iss. 3, Article 2.
Available at: https://scholarship.law.ufl.edu/fjil/vol27/iss3/2