To what extent do legal norms relating to the use of armed force influence governments’ desire to secure Security Council endorsement of their military actions?

Essay from the year 2012 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Topic: International Organisations, grade: 1, University of Massachusetts - Amherst, language: English, abstract: In his article on The Political Origins of the UN Security Council’s Ability to Legitimize theUse of Force, Erik Voeten states that the observation of ...

Essay from the year 2012 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Topic: International Organisations, grade: 1, University of Massachusetts - Amherst, language: English, abstract: In his article on The Political Origins of the UN Security Council’s Ability to Legitimize theUse of Force, Erik Voeten states that the observation of state behavior could lead us to theassumption that it is costly for a state to not get the Security Council’s (SC) approval for aforceful action against another state. Costly, could on the one hand refer to an extremeincrease considering funding issues. Without proper legitimization, it seems to be harder forstates to find cooperatives because, “governments are more willing to cooperate voluntarilyonce the SC has conferred its blessing” (Voeten 528). This leads to higher funding costs forthe operating state. On the other hand, the costs of a unilateral act might lie in the decline ofsupport and reputation a state government gets within the international society and amongstits own population in general. Therefore, Voeten seems to argue that political elites do notnecessarily consider the SC as an, “independent judgment on the appropriateness of anintervention”, but rather behave rationally in trying to minimize the costs by getting, “politicalreassurance about the consequences of proposed military adventures” (527). Why does thisinstitution possess the legitimization to give them this reassurance? And to what extent doesthis legitimization lie in the legal structure and norms it has incorporated? The followingessay shall deal with Voeten’s observations of increasing state acceptance and trust in theauthorization of the SC, and his explanations for this process. Furthermore, it shall focus onthe factor of legal norms and argue for a high importance of the legal norms influence whileconstituting and providing the foundation of the SC’s status in the international society. Inconnection to this I will highlight the critique which was raised by several scholars andpoliticians as well, that todays structure of the SC might not be appropriate anymore andrestructuring could help in continuing its increase in legitimacy.