The attitude of democratic states concerning the use of military force is determined to a large extent by aspects of constitutional law as well as the receptiveness of domestic structures to international law. In the discussion about Democratic Peace, these aspects received only scant attention. However, institutional characteristics like parliamentary involvement in decisions dealing with the use of military force or the “disposition” of the respective national legal system to international law and its constraints on the use of military force do play a role. Moreover, there are many references to international law in public discourses of democratic societies – especially in connection to the war in Iraq -, which might constrain governmental decision-making processes.

 

This interdisciplinary project on the nexus of international law and political science focuses on the relationship between the different legal-institutional constitutions and dispositions of democracies on the one hand and their war involvement on the other hand. The publications look at this relationship from different angles ranging from discussions of specific legal procedures on the use of military force, discourse analytical work on the social construction of democratic policies with regard to international law to theoretical considerations about the relationship between politics and law. The project was closed in 2009.

 

Research Fellows: Prof. Dr. Michael Bothe, Prof. Dr. Andreas Fischer-Lescano, Dr. Philip Liste.