FIVE LEVELS OF INTERNATIONAL LEGAL MYTHOLOGY

Abstract

This article continues the article «International Law as a Mythology», which states that the descriptive ideas used by international law distort reality and are, therefore, myths. The mythological structure of international law consists of five levels. At the first (fundamental) level, there are the ideas of sovereignty and human rights, which have a basis in the Christian doctrine of the will and were finally approved during the transition from the Middle Ages to the Modern history (the 16th and 17th centuries). At the second level, there are the liberal ideas of the 19th century: peaceful settlement of disputes, international governance, free trade, humanization of war and self-determination. At the third level, there is the idea of international crime, formulated after the Second World War and applicable to acts of states (aggressive war) and acts of individuals (terrorism). At the fourth level, there are neoliberal ideas of the second half of the 20th century: common sovereign, common law, prohibition of the use of force, sustainable development, common heritage, etc. At the fifth (emerging) level, there is the idea of technology. The article discusses the features of each level: the cultural and political prerequisites of its formation, the relationship with other levels, the characteristics of the order organized on its basis, the content and logical defects of the relevant myths, the character of their destructive impact, etc.