Between Power and Persuasion: On International Institutions’ Authority in Making Law

Ingo Venzke 

University of Amsterdam - Amsterdam Center for International Law
October 18, 2013

Theoretical Inquiries in Law, Forthcoming
Amsterdam Law School Research Paper No. 2013-57
Amsterdam Center for International Law No. 2013-21
Postnational Rulemaking Working Paper No. 2013-07 
Abstract:      

Drawing on the work of Hannah Arendt, this contribution places authority between power and persuasion. It first argues that authority is a specific kind of power that claims to be legitimate because it connects to the consent of the addressee. But at the same time, authority needs to constrain even if it is not met with agreement. Otherwise it would collapse into persuasion through arguments. What sustains authority between power and persuasion is a discursive practice that builds up a social expectation and that ties actors to the command of the authority. It is with attention to the larger discursive practices that international institutions’ authority in making law is best understood. The notion of semantic authority is introduced in order to capture international institutions’ capacity to establish reference points for legal discourse that other actors can hardly escape.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 24

Keywords: International public authority, international law-making, international organizations, power, persuasion, Hannah Arendt, Max Weber

Full text available at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2342166