ABSTRACT
The mitigation of global warming is an obvious case in point, but so are the stability of international finance markets and global disease surveillance, which likewise exemplify a demand for international cooperation. The present contribution argues that the impediments to justice in international relations, even when associated with the proposal for new institutions, are serious. As a consequence, the impact of ethical injunctions, i.e. appeals to the norms of morality, must appear weak. Taylor uses this term to refer to the paradoxical situation when States give raise to international conflicts while simultaneously creating domestic order. World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) are committed to the stability of finance markets; the United Nations conceive of peace and security as global public goods, and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the more recent International Criminal Court (ICC) are devoted to a global legal order. The provision of global public goods, where these require international cooperation, is a recalcitrant business.
