The governance of societies and their interactions has long been a subject of debate.
Driven by ‘self-interest’, we seek what benefits us, but this often conflicts with
others’ pursuits and freedoms. This tension underpins ‘law’ and ‘the rule of law’
– a framework allowing individual interests under strict, ‘impartial’ regulation.
The principle that ‘no one
is above the law’ has historically protected individual freedoms and prevented ‘overreach’.
Yet, ‘power’ and ‘law’ often clash, with those in power seeking to disregard or evade
legal constraints. In modern times, International law aspires to extend ‘the rule
of law’ globally, asserting that no ‘state’ should stand above the law. But is this
the global legal landscape of today? This study examines the international legal order
and the potential of a ‘rule of international law’, focusing on power dynamics between
dominant ‘centers’ and marginalized ‘peripheries’ through the lens of the ‘Center-Periphery
Model’. It incorporates empirical case studies through which we may explore why some
nations and regions remain excluded from complete legal protection and access to rights,
effectively rendering them ‘legally southern’ – marginalized within the global legal
order.
