Equality in International Society: A Reappraisal

196 Pages·2014·3.102 MB·English

by  Ronnie Hjorth (auth.)

GlobalEthicsSeries
SeriesEditor:ChristienvandenAnker,Reader,DepartmentofPolitics,Univer-
sityoftheWestofEngland,UK
Global Ethics as a field builds on longer traditions of ethical reflection about
(global)societyanddiscussesethicalapproachestoglobalissues.Theseinclude
butarenotlimitedtoissueshighlightedbytheprocessofglobalisation(inthe
widest sense) and increasing multiculturalism. They also engage with migra-
tion, the environment, poverty and inequality, peace and conflict, human
rights,globalcitizenship,socialmovementsandglobalgovernance.Despitefluid
boundaries between fields, Global Ethics can be clearly marked out by its mul-
tidisciplinaryapproach,itsinterestinastronglinkbetweentheory,policyand
practice and its inclusion of a range of work from strictly normative to more
empirical.
Booksintheseriesprovideaspecificnormativeapproach,taxonomy,oraneth-
ical position on a specific issue in Global Ethics through empirical work. They
explicitlyengagewithGlobalEthicsasafieldandpositionthemselvesinregard
to existing debates even when outlining more local approaches or issues. The
Global Ethics Series has been designed to reach beyond a liberal cosmopolitan
agendaandengagewithcontextualismaswellasstructuralanalysesofinjustice
incurrentglobalpoliticsanditsdiscipliningdiscourses.
Titlesinclude:
CarlosR.Cordourier-Real
TRANSNATIONALSOCIALJUSTICE
AnnaGrear
REDIRECTINGHUMANRIGHTS
FacingtheChallengeofCorporateLegalHumanity
RonnieHjorth
EQUALITYININTERNATIONALSOCIETY
AReappraisal
ShahramKhosravi
‘ILLEGAL’TRAVELLER
AnAuto-EthnographyofBorders
IvanManokha(editor)
THEPOLITICALECONOMYOFHUMANRIGHTSENFORCEMENT
MandisaMbali
SOUTHAFRICANAIDSACTIVISMANDGLOBALHEALTHPOLITICS
DarrelMoellendorf
GLOBALINEQUALITYMATTERS
MichalNahman
EXTRACTIONS
SecuringBorders,TraffickingHumanOva
DerrickM.NaultandShawnL.England(editors)
GLOBALIZATIONANDHUMANRIGHTSINTHEDEVELOPINGWORLD
KatherineTonkiss
MIGRATIONANDIDENTITYINAPOST-NATIONALWORLD
AKMAhsanUllah
REFUGEEPOLITICSINTHEMIDDLEEASTANDNORTHAFRICA
HumanRights,Safety,andIdentity
ChristienvandenAnkerandIlsevanLiempt(editors)
HUMANRIGHTSANDMIGRATION
TraffickingforForcedLabour
GlobalEthicsSeries
SeriesStandingOrderISBN978–0–230–01958–4
(outsideNorthAmericaonly)
You can receive future titles in this series as they are published by placing a
standing order. Please contact your bookseller or, in case of difficulty, write to
usattheaddressbelowwithyournameandaddress,thetitleoftheseriesand
theISBNquotedabove.
Customer Services Department, Macmillan Distribution Ltd, Houndmills,
Basingstoke,HampshireRG216XS,England
Equality in International
Society
A Reappraisal
Ronnie Hjorth
ReaderinPoliticalScience,SwedishNationalDefenceCollege,Stockholm,Sweden
©RonnieHjorth2014
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2014 978-0-230-39315-8
Allrightsreserved.Noreproduction,copyortransmissionofthis
publicationmaybemadewithoutwrittenpermission.
Noportionofthispublicationmaybereproduced,copiedortransmitted
savewithwrittenpermissionorinaccordancewiththeprovisionsofthe
Copyright,DesignsandPatentsAct1988,orunderthetermsofanylicence
permittinglimitedcopyingissuedbytheCopyrightLicensingAgency,
SaffronHouse,6–10KirbyStreet,LondonEC1N8TS.
Anypersonwhodoesanyunauthorizedactinrelationtothispublication
maybeliabletocriminalprosecutionandcivilclaimsfordamages.
Theauthorhasassertedhisrighttobeidentifiedastheauthorofthiswork
inaccordancewiththeCopyright,DesignsandPatentsAct1988.
Firstpublished2014by
PALGRAVEMACMILLAN
PalgraveMacmillanintheUKisanimprintofMacmillanPublishersLimited,
registeredinEngland,companynumber785998,ofHoundmills,Basingstoke,
HampshireRG216XS.
PalgraveMacmillanintheUSisadivisionofStMartin’sPressLLC,
175FifthAvenue,NewYork,NY10010.
PalgraveMacmillanistheglobalacademicimprintoftheabovecompanies
andhascompaniesandrepresentativesthroughouttheworld.
Palgrave®andMacmillan®areregisteredtrademarksintheUnitedStates,
theUnitedKingdom,Europeandothercountries.
ISBN 978-1-349-35225-8 ISBN 978-0-230-39316-5 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9780230393165
Thisbookisprintedonpapersuitableforrecyclingandmadefromfully
managedandsustainedforestsources.Logging,pulpingandmanufacturing
processesareexpectedtoconformtotheenvironmentalregulationsofthe
countryoforigin.
AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Hjorth,Ronnie,1964–
Equalityininternationalsociety:areappraisal/RonnieHjorth(reader
inpoliticalscience,SwedishNationalDefenceCollege,Sweden).
pages cm—(Globalethics)
Summary:“Theauthorre-examinestheconceptofequalityininternationalsociety,
pastandpresent.Theconventionalviewthatequalityofstatesnecessarilyflows
fromsovereignty,thatitisacorollarytosovereigntyorsimplyasynonym,is
consideredacontingentratherthananecessarycontention.Themainargumentis
thatequalityinglobalinternationalsocietyshouldbetheorisedanew,restoring
thenormativestrengthoftheprinciple.Itisshownhowconceptsofequalitymake
intelligibledifferentnormativeandethicalconceptionsofthemodernpolitical
spaceinthepast.DrawingontheworksofsuchdiversetheoristsasHansKelsen,
PeterSinger,JohnRawlsandMichaelOakeshott,theauthorsuggestshowarenewed
interestinequalitycontributestomakinginternationalsocietyamoreinclusive,
egalitarian,andcrediblemoralandpoliticalassociation”—Providedbypublisher.
Includesbibliographicalreferences.
1. Internationalrelations—Philosophy. 2. Internationalrelations—Moraland
ethicalaspects. 3. Equalityofstates—Philosophy. 4. Sovereignty—Philosophy.
5. Balanceofpower—Philosophy. 6. Worldpolitics—Philosophy. I. Title.
JZ1313.H542014
327.101—dc23 2014025305
Contents
PrefaceandAcknowledgements vi
1 Introduction 1
2 Concepts,Approaches,Devices 9
Part I History:ABackwardGlance
3 TwoNaturalistTheories 29
4 HobbesandtheConstructivistTheoryofEquality 45
5 EqualityandHierarchy 65
6 SovereignEqualityandItsDiscontents 84
Conclusions 102
Part II Theory:AFreshBeginning
7 EqualitywithoutSovereignty 109
8 ANewFrameworkforEquality 125
9 TheLimitsofInternationalSociety 147
Conclusions 166
Bibliography 173
Index 182
v
Preface and Acknowledgements
Thisbookwaswrittenovertheperiodoftwoyearsfollowingmyarrival
attheSwedish NationalDefenceCollegein Stockholm.Itis essentially
the result of an intellectualjourney thatI began several years ago, and
I doubt that I have yet reached the final destination. To borrow one
of Michael Oakeshott’s metaphors, this book is possibly just another
‘platformofconditionalunderstanding’alongthejourney.Thestarting
pointofthisinquiryisanunderstandingthatequalityininternational
societyisunder-theorisedcomparedtogeneralpoliticaltheory,andthat
the acceptance of the concept of ‘sovereign equality’, as expressed in
theUNCharter,precludesthestudyofequalityininternationalsociety.
Myintentionhasbeentodrawattentiontotheseshortcomings.Ithink
of my argument as a liberating one, opening the door to new ways to
conceive of equality in international society, past and present, and as
an argument that offers a new framework for thinking about equality
whilestoppingshortofsuggestingconcreteproposalsforreformorten-
deringadviceastohowequalitymaybeenhancedinconcreteissuesof
policy.Someoftheargumentsdevelopedherewereoutlinedinprelim-
inary form in ‘Equality in the Theory of International Society: Kelsen,
RawlsandtheEnglishSchool’ReviewofInternationalStudies,37(2011),
pp. 2585–2602. I thank Cambridge University Press for giving me the
permissiontodrawonthearticle.
In the process of writing I have benefited from the many comments
and suggestions received from colleagues who have read parts of the
manuscript, or with whom I have discussed the topics or engaged in
writtencorrespondence.IamgratefultoJanHallenberg,HeadofPolit-
icalScienceattheNationalDefenceCollege,forsupportingtheproject
and for being a continuous source of inspiration and encouragement.
IamalsomuchindebtedtoBoH.LindbergwithwhomIbeganthisjour-
ney. I would like to express my gratitude to Heather Harrison Dinniss,
Hans Agné and Tom Lundborg who have commented on parts of my
texts on various occasions, and who by simply taking a sceptical and
somewhat critical posture towards my ideas, contributed a great deal
to the shaping of my arguments. And, as always, many people have
contributed with their points of view, offering interesting and often
fruitful suggestions and criticism. They include Jens Bartelson, Kjell
Engelbrekt,JacobWestberg,GöranCollste,ElinPalm,AndersNordgren,
vi
PrefaceandAcknowledgements vii
BoPettersson,PeterHåkansson,MarenBehrensen,MarcusAgnaforsand
JasminaNedevska.IthanktheeditorsatPalgraveMacmillan,Christina
Brian,AmandaMcGrathandAmbraFinotello,foreditorialsupport,and
theserieseditor,ChristienVanDenAnker,andananonymousreviewer,
fortheirvaluablecommentsandsuggestions.
Finally,Iwouldliketothankmyfamilyfortheirencouragement,love
andsupport.
IdedicatethisbooktoMax.
1
Introduction
Thisbookisabouttheconceptofequalityininternationalsociety.The
starting point for this inquiry is the contention that while equality is
an essential concept in modern political theory it is not so in interna-
tionaltheory.Inthepoliticaltheoryliteraturethereareseveralaccounts
ofequality,such as formalequality,moralequality,equalitybeforethe
law, equal liberty, material equality, equal access, equality of oppor-
tunity, equality of outcome (Hoffman & Graham, 2006, 61–62); and
in the history of political philosophy equality is often regarded not
only as a central political idea but also as a vantage point for philo-
sophical reflection. Accordingly, social contract theorists from Thomas
Hobbes to John Rawls treat equality as a starting point for normative
political theory. The challenge is to formulate a psychologically real-
istic and formally structured concept of equality among moral and
rational persons from which to theorise principles of political organ-
isation. Hobbes’s understanding of the equality of fear is the point
of departure for the journey from a state of war to orderly political
relations (Hobbes, 1909, 94 [60]). For Rawls, the much more complex
equality of the ‘original position’ is conditional for ‘justice as fair-
ness’, which is the foundation for the theory of justice (Rawls, 1972,
11). In addition to social contract theory there is the classical politi-
cal ideal of equality expressed by Aristotle as the ‘government of men
free and equal’ and formulated in opposition to the patriarchal notion
of the household (Aristotle, 1944, 29 [1255b]). Accordingly, Michael
Oakeshott claims that a civil association is a ‘practice’ of which equal-
ity among the participants is an essential element (Oakeshott, 1975a,
121). Hannah Arendt has commented about the relationship between
freedom and equality in Aristotle, that ‘to be free meant to be free
fromtheinequalitypresentinrulershipandtomoveinaspherewhere
1
2 EqualityinInternationalSociety
neitherrulenorbeingruledexisted’(Arendt,1958,32).Thus,concepts
of equality are central to the work of political theorists of different
denominations.
However, in the international relations literature equality among
statesisgenerallyunderstoodinanentirelydifferentway,anditisnot
given the same priority among political concepts. While it is true that
equality of states is widely regarded to be one of the core principles
of international law, it has not been given much attention by inter-
national relations theorists. Generally, equality of states is understood
in terms of ‘sovereign equality’ as expressed in the UN Charter (Klein,
1974; Suganami, 1990; Watson, 1998; Kingsbury, 1999). In this sense
equality is viewed as a legal principle (legal equality) and derived from
sovereignty (sovereign equality). It is a formal principle stipulating a
fictitious equality of states. Moreover, legal equality of states is often
regardedasanelementofsovereigntyalongwiththeprinciplesofnon-
intervention and immunity. On this point Benedict Kingsbury claims
that ‘the concept of sovereignty underpins a principle of sovereign
equalitythathasattainedalmostanontologicalpositioninthestructure
of the international legal system’ (Kingsbury, 1999, 66). Accordingly,
HedleyBullclaimsthatequalityofstatesisbestunderstoodasa‘corol-
lary principle’ to sovereignty whereas sovereignty is viewed as the
‘basicruleofcoexistence’(Bull,1977,36–37).Similarly,RobertJackson
views sovereignty as a ‘precondition of international society’ and that
sovereignty is a ‘normative foundation’for a society of states in which
‘equal sovereignty’ is ‘necessarily basic’ (Jackson, 2005, 75); and Hans
Morgenthauarguesthatequalityofstatesis‘nothingbutasynonymfor
sovereignty,pointingtoaparticularaspectofsovereignty’(Morgenthau,
1967,302).Buttheintimateconnectionbetweensovereigntyandequal-
ity has also been questioned, for instance by Hans Kelsen. Kelsen
argues that the rules governing equality of states are valid not because
of sovereignty but because they are norms of positive international
law (Kelsen, 1944, 207). Nevertheless, the general verdict seems to be
that it is better to maintain a fictitious formal equality sustained by
sovereigntythantorethinkequalityaccordingtosubstantialcriteriaor
moralideas.
The closed pair of concepts, equality and sovereignty, contributes
to the containment of a politico-legal sphere that is stable, functional
and practical, and that is serviceable as a framework for addressing
issues of world politics, even demands for greater material equal-
ity or recognition, without risking a breakdown of the entire order.