Review: International Relations Theory: Right V. Might
| Author | Victor V. Fic |
| Date | 01 March 1991 |
| Published date | 01 March 1991 |
| DOI | 10.1177/002070209104600110 |
| Subject Matter | Review |
186
INTERNATIONAL
JOURNAL
ment
in
Onuf
s
book,
as
if
the
author
did
not
also
have
to
live
in
the
world
he
describes,
enmeshed
in
a
web
of
data
flows
-
the
modern
form
of
rule.
Perhaps,
his
title
notwithstanding,
the
world
is
scarcely
of our
making after
all.
Miller's
book
has
the
virtue
at
least
of
wishing
to
empower,
not
to
induce resignation,
however
fragile
the
'civilizing
possibilities'
may
seem
against
'the
prospects
of
scarcity,
social
ruin,
and
violence
propelled
by
the
rage
of
those
who have
nothing
more
to
lose'
(p
237).
Roger
Epp/Camrose
Lutheran
University
College
RIGHT
V.
MIGHT
International
law
and
the
use
of
force
Louis
Henkin
et
al
New
York:
Council
on
Foreign
Relations
Press,
1989,
xii,
124pp,
US$12.
9 5
This
book
is
a
result
of
the
intense
controversy
arising
from
the
'Reagan
Doctrine,'
wherein
the
United
States
aids
insurgents
fighting
commu-
nist
regimes
in
places
such
as
Afghanistan,
Angola,
and
Cambodia.
Several
American
commentators
respond
to
a
general
question
-
does
international
law
permit
armed
intervention
in
support
of
liberal
democracy?
-in
the context
of
United
States
foreign
policy.
Jeane
Kirkpatrick
and
Allan
Gerson
begin
by
defining
the
doctrine
as
applicable
'where
there
are
indigenous
opponents
to
a
government
that
is
maintained
by
force
...
and
where
the
people are
denied
a
[democratic]
choice
regarding their
affiliations
and future.'
They
claim
that
the
doctrine
is
consistent
with
article
2(4)
of
the United
Nations
Charter
which
prohibits
states
from
resorting
to
force
because
that
article
must
be
seen
'in
the
context
of
the
entire Charter.'
Article
5
1,
for
example,
allows
for
force
to
be
used
in
self-defence.
Moreover,
it
is
argued
that
the
charter
is
not
a
'neutral'
document,
but
one
'commit-
ted
to
democratic
values.'
In
consequence,
'states
are
free
to
act
to
redress
...
the
forcible
repression of
these
values.'
This
essay
is
strident
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