Publications 2022

“The USA does not recognise the International Criminal Court as binding on it; Russia is waging a war of aggression against Ukraine in defiance of all norms of international law, and the People’s Republic of China is threatening to reunify Taiwan against the declared will of those living there—behaviours that can be explained by the logic of power. According to this logic, what prevails is solely the ability to impose one’s own will even in the face of resistance: power. Those who depend on it must adapt to this power or flee. Opposing this is the logic of mutual ties, which can also be understood as the logic of equal rights and as the logic of substantive reason. According to this logic, people are mutually bound by their humanity; countries by their economic, social, political, and cultural interconnectedness; and states by shared challenges. Consequently, they respect one another as fundamentally equal and free—forming the basis for commonly accepted norms and procedures. Protected by this rule of law, conflicts can be resolved peacefully and shared challenges discussed objectively.”

“The U.S. does not acknowledge the International Criminal Court as binding on itself; Russia is waging a war of aggression against Ukraine against all norms of international law, and the People’s Republic of China is threatening to reunify Taiwan even against the declared will of the people living there—behaviors that can be explained according to the logic of power. According to this logic, only the ability to assert one’s own will even in the face of resistance prevails: power. Dependent people have to adapt to this power or flee. This is contrasted with the logic of mutual binding, which can also be understood as the logic of equal rights and the logic of subject matter. According to this logic, people are mutually bound by their humanity, countries by their economic, social, political and cultural interconnectedness, and states by common challenges. Consequently, they respect one another as fundamentally equal and free—the basis of commonly accepted norms and procedures. By protecting this rule of law, conflicts can be managed peacefully and common challenges discussed objectively.”