Table Of ContentContemporary Security Studies
INTERNATIONAL
LEGITIMACY AND THE
DOMESTIC USE OF FORCE
A NEW THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Megan Price
‘Why do states feel the need to justify the domestic use of force to
international audiences? How do they go about it? And what does this tell
us about the politics of international legitimacy? Megan Price addresses
these questions in this groundbreaking book. What’s more, she tackles them
by reference to two fascinating cases that fall outside the standard focus on
western powers: Indonesia’s intervention in Aceh (2003–05) and Sri
Lanka’s recourse to force (2006–09) against the Tamil Tigers. This book
is for anyone who is interested in the legitimacy of military force.’
—Cian O’Driscoll, Australian National University
International Legitimacy and the
Domestic Use of Force
This book examines how states justify the domestic use of military force to
foreign audiences.
By deploying a sociological approach to legitimacy and drawing on conceptual
tools which deal directly with the dynamics of justification, it offers a novel
framework for understanding the politics of international legitimacy and domestic
armed action. The framework is grounded in detailed qualitative analyses of civil
wars in Sri Lanka (2006–2009), and Aceh, Indonesia (2003–2005). The book
shows that the meaning of legitimacy in a particular context does not flow directly
from a menu of relevant rules, norms and ideas. Rather, legitimacy is always
politically contested. When states justify fighting at home, the success of their
claims is determined by their capacity to appeal to rules and norms but also to
frame their action in ways that their audiences find compelling. Therefore, the
framework offered in this book draws attention to the crucial but largely neglected
role of audiences in the constitution of legitimacy.
This book will be of interest to students of security studies, law, human rights
and international relations.
Megan Price is a Sessional Lecturer in the School of Political Science and
International Studies, at the University of Queensland, Australia.
Contemporary Security Studies
Series Editors: James Gow and Rachel Kerr
King’s College London
This series focuses on new research across the spectrum of international peace and
security, in an era where each year throws up multiple examples of conflicts that
present new security challenges in the world around them.
NATO and Transatlantic Relations in the 21st Century
Foreign and Security Policy Perspectives
Edited by Michele Testoni
Reconciliation After War
Historical Perspectives on Transitional Justice
Edited by Rachel Kerr, Henry Redwood, and James Gow
Militia Order in Afghanistan
Guardians or Gangsters?
Matthew P. Dearing
Prosecutorial Discretion in the International Criminal Court
Legitimacy and the Politics of Justice
Farid Mohammed Rashid
Drones and Global Order
Implications of Remote Warfare for International Society
Edited by Paul Lushenko, Srinjoy Bose, and William Maley
Understanding Russian Strategic Behavior Imperial Strategic Culture and
Putin’s Operational Code
Graeme P. Herd
International Legitimacy and the Domestic Use of Force
A New Theoretical Framework
Megan Price
For more information about this series, please visit: https://www.routledge.com/
Contemporary-Security-Studies/book-series/CSS
International Legitimacy
and the Domestic Use
of Force
A New Theoretical Framework
Megan Price
First published 2023
by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2023 Megan Price
The right of Megan Price to be identified as author of this work has been
asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs
and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record has been requested for this book
ISBN: 978-0-367-76494-4 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-367-76502-6 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-16722-8 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003167228
Typeset in Goudy
by MPS Limited, Dehradun
Contents
Acknowledgements viii
Introduction 1
1 Language: Approach and Key Concepts 17
2 Legitimacy and the Domestic Use of Force: Charting a
Theoretical Approach 33
3 The Sri Lankan Conflict (2006–2009): Justifications 54
4 The Aceh Conflict (2003–2005): Justifications 87
5 The Sri Lankan Conflict (2006–2009): Audience
Responses 117
6 The Aceh Conflict (2003–2005): Audience Responses 129
7 The Politics of International Legitimacy 144
Conclusion 166
Index 175
Acknowledgements
This book started its life as an Honours project back in 2014 and I have
accumulated many debts of gratitude in the interim. It would be outrageous if I
did not start by firstly thanking my PhD supervisors Matt McDonald and Sarah
Percy. Matt took me on as an honours student and since then he has been an
ever-patient and encouraging supervisor and mentor. He read all my drafts in
their earliest and ugliest forms and though he would never admit it, I know that
his efforts were beyond the call of duty. At crucial junctures in this project,
Sarah’s insights and advice brought much-needed clarity. Sarah also has the
knack of knowing exactly when her students require an injection of positivity.
When it comes to writing, not every day is a good day.
Because I started my PhD when I was very young, I did some of my growing up
in the School of Political Science and International Studies at the University of
Queensland. On that count, I don’t think I could have been more fortunate. It’s
widely known that UQ is home to some formidable politics and IR talent. It’s
also full of extremely kind, honest, and quite funny people. I would like to thank
everyone in the school for that. After finishing my PhD, I was crazy enough to
say yes when Chris Reus-Smit asked me if I wanted to join his hiking group in
Nepal. Since those 26 spectacular and frequently gruelling days in the alps,
Chris has been an invaluable friend and mentor to me.
I owe an enormous intellectual debt of gratitude to Ian Clark who was
finishing his career just as I was starting mine. Without his work on legitimacy,
my project would never have gotten off the ground. Ian was also kind enough to
help me conceive the parameters of my work. The initial PhD project was
materially supported by the Australian Postgraduate Award, which afforded me
the privilege of researching on a full-time basis. I received very constructive and
detailed feedback on my PhD from my examiners – Mlada Bukovansky and Cian
O’Driscoll. The reviewers and series editors at Routledge offered thoughtful
advice, enabling me to dramatically improve the work. I would also like to
thank Eden Bywater for helping me prepare my final manuscript.
Throughout the project, I leant on many friends and family. For their
unwavering friendship, I acknowledge Erin, Sam, Bonny, and Ingrid as well as
my fellow doctoral students Federica, Sarah, Neil, Andrew, Paul, Jack, Molly,
Josie, Cormac, and Jamal. An honourable mention must go to my football
Acknowledgements ix
teammates and coaches at The Gap and Lions FC. Football kept me sane for much
of my research and I will always cherish the friendships I made while playing.
Lastly, there is my family. To my mother, it feels like only yesterday that we
started our PhDs. Now look at us, we are publishing our books! To my father,
thank you for being a willing cook, barista, and replacer of flat car batteries. And
lastly, thank you to Lisa for your love and support.
Some sections of the book have been published previously. I would like to
thank the publishers for granting me copyright permission to use the material in
the monograph. In particular, some sections of Chapter 3 were previously
published in ‘The End Days of the Fourth Eelam War: Sri Lanka’s Denialist
Challenge to the Law of War’ in Ethics and International Affairs (Spring 2022).
Reprinted with permission of Cambridge University Press.
