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Goodbye to All That? The Rule of Law, International Law, the United States, and the Use of Force

Mansell, Wade (2004) Goodbye to All That? The Rule of Law, International Law, the United States, and the Use of Force. Journal of Law and Society, 31 (4). pp. 433-456. ISSN 0263-323X. (doi:10.1111/j.1467-6478) (KAR id:570)

Abstract

The attitude of past United States administrations to public international law, particularly but not exclusively governing the use of force, has often seemed ambivalent, or sometimes decidedly hostile (where the conduct of the United States itself was called in to question). This paper considers the attitude of many of those with power or influence in the Bush administration (particularly that of the 'neo-conservatives'), and the implications of their often thinly disguised contempt for public international law which might seek to constrain the exercise of United States power. The conclusion is that while the academic arguments which seek to justify this American 'exceptionalism' are worthy of serious examination, they are ultimately inadequate and in the interests of neither the rest of the world, nor, finally, the United States itself.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1111/j.1467-6478
Additional information: The definitive version is available at www.blackwell-synergy.com
Subjects: K Law
Divisions: Divisions > Division for the Study of Law, Society and Social Justice > Kent Law School
Depositing User: C.A.R. Kennedy
Date Deposited: 19 Dec 2007 18:20 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Nov 2021 09:39 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/570 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Mansell, Wade.

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