Author(s): Jackson Adams, Issa Saidi
In the words of Rousseau: “Power doesn’t create rights, and man must submit to just power” 1 Respect for democracy and the rule of law have come under threat in recent years in various member states of the United Nations (UN). On one hand, the UN is facing a new global reality that is increasingly far removed from its basic values – leading to the undertaking of democracy promotion. On the other hand, the United Nations Security Council’s (UNSC) promotion of democracy could impact the legal right of state sovereignty – leading to what some may consider as illicit intervention from the UNSC into the internal affairs of states. Such acts may result in loss of confidence by member states in the UN democratisation process and the authority and legitimacy of UNSC. Accordingly, the current study will elaborate on why ‘promoting democracy’ in states has become a contested issue that the UNSC has embarked on as one of its preventive means to deal with conflicts. In doing so, the researchers will be using various international cases where the UNSC’s has demonstrated an ambivalent stance towards contentious international issues. Thus, the empirical aim of the paper is to increase awareness of the inevitable role of UNSC in the ‘democratic legitimacy’ debate, whereas the methodological aim is to contribute, firstly, with a globally oriented perspective on research connecting legal studies and ‘democratic legitimacy’ studies and, secondly, with an answer to calls for more studies at the intersection of legal studies and international relations. The findings of the study indicate that claims of selective enforcement, systemic injustices, and permanent members abusing their veto power have affected the confidence of member states in the credibility and ability of the UNSC’s to promote democracy in other states without breaching the state sovereignty right.