ABSTRACT
Global events since the end of the Cold War, together with associated decisions on the use of force, have determined one thing: the search for international legitimacy is an art, not a science. The events in Kosovo provided perhaps the clearest illustration of international law’s subordination to the realist principles of power politics. The language, structures and rules of international law were used very efficiently by the West to bolster their case for intervention. The difference between Kosovo and Iraq, and what George W. Bush completely overlooked, was the respective presence and absence of international consensus. In the post-Cold War world, unsurprisingly, given the architects of the modern international system, the vast majority of military interventions have been led by traditional “Western” states. The support of the United Kingdom helped build the perception of multilateralism and international consensus, which, in turn, aided the development of international and domestic legitimacy.
