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Begin New Search Political Geography Iraq Author Vesselin Popovski

1. Legality and Legitimacy in International Order

Author:
Vesselin Popovski and Nicholas Turner
Publication Date:
05-2008
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
The 1999 NATO armed intervention over Kosovo was illegal under international law, but widely regarded as legitimate. The 2003 US invasion of Iraq was both illegal and illegitimate, though unilateral attempts were made to legitimize it, using the Kosovo precedent. The sanctions against Iraq, preceding the 2003 invasion, were legal, but seen by many as illegitimate. These examples are symptomatic of a wider disconnect between legality and legitimacy which affects many areas of international life. Legality is not the only criteria for determining acceptable state behaviour. Other criteria—humanitarian, ethical and political—play a significant role in modern international relations. Ignorance of international law has serious negative consequences, but so has the blind reliance on international law, detached from human aspirations and actual circumstances.
Topic:
International Law
Political Geography:
United States, Iraq, and Kosovo

2. Religious Perspectives on the Use of Force

Author:
Vesselin Popovski and Nicholas Turner
Publication Date:
01-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
Decisions over the use of force are the most significant and dangerous that leaders must take, both morally and in terms of achieving their goals. Consideration of the reasons that can justify behaviour resulting in the elimination of human life is as philosophical and ethical as it is political and legal. In the context of exponential increases in the destructiveness of war, particularly with the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, such consideration assumes an even greater significance.
Topic:
Conflict Prevention, Security, Peace Studies, and Religion
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, Iraq, and Kosovo