International Law And State-Building
International Law And State-Building

Summary/Abstract: The aim of this paper is to assess the interdependence of inter-national law and international politics in the process of state-build-ing. More precisely, it is about the role of international law as a toolfor attaining the institutional development desired in weak states.This is a grey area in which the sovereignty of states clashes withcertain internationally recognized values, while international lawmanifests certain weaknesses and deficiencies which have provokedsome scholars to label it as a primitive legal order. A lack of legalbasis and the absence of elaborated rules of engagement in state-building bring the process under strict scrutiny. Is it legitimate andlegal to unconditionally launch a process of democratization andinstitution building and who is competent to make the decisionsand qualifications? Fear and solidarity are the most common under-lying principles for intervention and violation of the sovereign rightsof states, while both are highly complex concepts often left to thediscretion of powerful states for elaboration and application.

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