Hume’s Dynamic Coordination and International Law

TY - JOUR

T1 - Hume’s Dynamic Coordination and International Law

AU - Pavel, Carmen

PY - 2020/5/16

Y1 - 2020/5/16

N2 - At the heart of the tension between state autonomy and international law is the question of whether states should willingly restrict their freedom of action for the sake of international security, human rights, trade, communication, and the environment. David Hume offers surprising insights to answer this question. He argues that the same interests in cooperation arise among individuals as well as states and that their interactions should be regulated by the same principles. Drawing on his model of dynamic coordination, I will reconstruct the Humean case for developing international law into a more robust legal system and also highlight the limitation of Hume’s account of justice for such a reconstructive project. Hume’s lessons are enduring; we must strengthen the essential features of international law that allow states and individuals to reap the benefits of its protections, such as nonoptional rules that articulate a moral minimum, courts with compulsory jurisdiction, and stronger mechanisms of enforcement.

AB - At the heart of the tension between state autonomy and international law is the question of whether states should willingly restrict their freedom of action for the sake of international security, human rights, trade, communication, and the environment. David Hume offers surprising insights to answer this question. He argues that the same interests in cooperation arise among individuals as well as states and that their interactions should be regulated by the same principles. Drawing on his model of dynamic coordination, I will reconstruct the Humean case for developing international law into a more robust legal system and also highlight the limitation of Hume’s account of justice for such a reconstructive project. Hume’s lessons are enduring; we must strengthen the essential features of international law that allow states and individuals to reap the benefits of its protections, such as nonoptional rules that articulate a moral minimum, courts with compulsory jurisdiction, and stronger mechanisms of enforcement.

KW - David Hume

KW - dynamic coordination

KW - international law

KW - rule of law

KW - state sovereignty

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85086050751&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1177/0090591720921831

DO - 10.1177/0090591720921831

M3 - Article

SN - 0090-5917

JO - POLITICAL THEORY

JF - POLITICAL THEORY

ER -