The Pursuit of International Justice: Present Dilemmas and an Imagined Future

Abstract

Obstacles of an ideological and structural character complicate the pursuit of international justice during this early phase of globalization. At the same time, several developments associated with globalization are encouraging to those committed to the promotion of international justice. The most salient obstacles arise from the persisting fragmentation of the world in reference to sovereign territorial states, and the widespread acceptance of efficiency and competitiveness criteria as the basis for assessing economic performance. The most promising developments arise from the plausibility of conceiving the world as a unity and from the beginnings of a global civil society due to the efforts of transnational social forces. This article is intended to clarify the character of both the obstacles and the opportunities associated with international justice at this time in history. Five dilemmas are identified in this discussion that arise from efforts to promote international justice within the nonideal conditions of the world as we find it. This article concludes with a consideration of ways in which the transformation of the character of world order could greatly enhance the realization of international justice with far fewer disappointments and debilitating compromises than seem necessary within the present global setting. Part of the undertaking of this symposium is to consider the contribution being made by international institutions with respect to international justice, including the United Nations system and its many elements. The role of institutions is central to all aspects of this inquiry, but it is also ambiguous. International institutions definitely promote and consolidate the ends of international justice in various respects, but they are also vulnerable to manipulation and control by political forces that are responsible for some of the worst forms of injustice, including patterns of domination, exploitation and victimization. Institutions, while being appreciated for their achievements, must also be criticized for their deficiencies. At present, the most promising avenues for the immediate actualization of international justice involve sensitive adjustments to variations of state and society makeup, as in the numerous peace, reconciliation and accountability procedures established in a number of countries. Also encouraging are various collaborations between transnational social forces and those governments that are more value-oriented and sensitive to the claims of international justice, as compared with those that define their role according to the maximization of power, wealth and influence. Such projects include a push for treaties that prohibit anti-personnel landmines, outlaw reliance on nuclear weaponry and establish an international criminal court. Each of these initiatives has its own distinct character, but in aggregate discloses a new form of global politics in which states are more motivated by values and human solidarity than by interests conceived in a narrow sense. This new form, for example, potentially establishes global security based on a demilitarizing respect for law in relation to effective international institutions that are constitutionally oriented. It is also important to acknowledge the contributions being made within regional frameworks, giving particular attention to the European experience. European regionalism in relation to economic cooperation and the protection of human rights is undoubtedly the boldest world order experiment currently underway. If the European Union is perceived as successful in other parts of the world, it could rapidly lead to the extension of a regional approach to address neglected instances of injustice. Especially in view of the current mood of disillusionment with the United Nations, it seems likely that institutionally and substantively, regional arenas will provide the most promising opportunities in the near future to pursue international justice in contexts beyond the boundaries of territorial states. …