What more can I say? Absolutely brilliant. Professor Tommy Koh deserves to be quoted at length. What is my lodestar? Do I subscribe to the Realist or the Moralist school of foreign policy? I reject the Realist school not because of its moral cynicism but because it does not reflect the world which we live. The Realists believe that the only standard by which a state should conduct its foreign policy is its national interest. They believe that in pursuit of its national interest, it is necessary for a state to be hypocritical and to compromise it principles. They reject any consideration of ethics or morality in the conduct of foreign policy as being irrelevant. Although they do not say so expressly, the logical implication which of the Realist stand is that we live in a world of anomie, that is to say, in a condition of lawlessness, in the absence of any governing structure, in a situation in which there are no laws, principles, rules to govern the conduct between nations. In this an accurate description of the world in which we live? In my view, it is not. We live in an imperfect world. It is not, however, a lawless world. The world community has evolved by custom...... The Realists will say, at this point, that there is a big difference between international law and domestic law. Domestic law works because it is a command backed up by force. There is no force behind the decisions of the ICJ or the UNSC... However, my rejection of the realist school does not lead me to embrace the Moralist school. - The Tommy Koh reader, Favourite Essays and Lectures (P.S PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE get a copy of the book if youre into global diplomacy. Its certified legit)
Posted on: Wed, 26 Mar 2014 17:48:09 +0000
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