The Concept of security and the Viability of Global Governance
| Autor | Carolina Aguirre Echeverri |
| Páginas | 52-68 |
52
Journal of International Law
The concept of security and the viability of global governance
Vol. 1, 01.| January - June 2010 Colombia
Abstract
The concept of security incorporates within its meaning, at the same time, political,
social and cultural connotations, and essentially entails a certain malleability that may,
at times, escape any aim for legal structure. Without a doubt, no contemporary theory of
international law, no international relations approach, and no political or humanistic discourse
can currently avoid it, regardless of the angle according to which it is dealt with. As to the
notion of governance, it has been described as the sum of the many ways individuals and
institutions, public and private, manage their common affairs through a dynamic and complex
process of interactive decision-making. When attempting to encompass both ideas, that is,
if the question about governance (on a global scale) is indeed pertinent or even possible
security wise, the fact is that working with probabilities –as security requires it-, and trying
response to different sets of circumstances is structured according to a process of interactive
decision-making –as mentioned before-, in the search for the encompassment of the majority
of subjects of international law is merely logical, which is the aim of this paper.
The Concept of security
and the Viability of Global Governance
By: Carolina Aguirre Echeverri
1. The notion of security
“Almost all nations observe almost all principles of international law
and almost all of their obligations almost all of the time”1. Well, such
a statement can certainly be considered anything but peaceful. M.
Koskenniemi, for example, would suggest that “our inherited idea of a
World Order based on the Rule of Law thinly hides from sight the fact
2. Indeed,
the words above apply in a certainly accurate manner to the concept
of security, which incorporates within its meaning, at the same time,
political, social and cultural connotations, and essentially entails a
certain malleability that may, at times, escape any aim for legal struc-
ture or infallible coherence. One can even state that due to said mal-
1. Louis Henkin, In Nathan A. Canestaro, “Real-
ism and transnationalism: competing visions for
international security” Boston University Interna-
tional Law Journal, vol 25, p.113.
2. Martti Koskenniemi, “The Politics of Interna-
tional Law” European Journal of International
Law. vol.1, 1990, p. 1.
53
Journal of International Law
The concept of security and the viability of global governance
January - June 2010 Colombia | Vol.1, 01.
word.3 It has certainly developed into a positively interesting word;
problematic for some, considerably handy for others, and consistently
invoked within the international system by its multiple agents. Without
a doubt, no contemporary theory of international law, no international
relations approach, and certainly no political or humanistic discourse
can currently avoid it, regardless of the angle or perspective accord-
ing to which it is dealt with.
From partial visions of the globalization phenomenon such as hy-
perglobalism or transformationalist thesis; from international legal
theories that oppose each other such as realism or transnationalism;
or doctrines regarding the use of force and intervention in another
State’s territory like humanitarian intervention -and more recently,
responsibility to protect-; to opinions about United States and its
”presence”, ”invasion” or “intervention” in Iraq, the issue of security
constitutes common ground and shared foundation for each of the
compelling for others. The issue that this paper seeks to address,
since it apparently causes a certain level of perplexity, is whether
political interaction and co-operative actions between international
agents have developed enough for it to be possible to state that there
is a certain level of compliance with international law –considering
that it is a normative system-, and if rules regarding security matters
-
that is, if there is on some degree global governance with regard to
enlightening. According to the scholar,
the seat of government, whereas discipline structures a space
and addresses the essential problem of a hierarchical and
functional distribution of elements, and security will try to plant
a milieu in terms of events or possible elements, of series that
will have to be regulated by a multivalent and transformable
framework”.4
Since governance has been described as the sum of the many ways
individuals and institutions, public and private, manage their com-
mon affairs; and the scope of security would particularly require to
encompass powerful actors into a dynamic and complex process of
that security does not seek to arrive at a point of perfection, and it is
Re-
vista Estudios Políticos, num. 28, 2006, p. 102.
4. Michel Foucault, 1977, Security, territory,
population; Lectures at The College de France
1977-1978, Picador, 2009, p. 35
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