Unexceptional exceptionalism: the use of force by great powers and international instability

Abstract

In their 2022 essay In Defense of Comparisons: Russia and the Transmutations of Imperialism in International Law , Kotova and Tzouvala contend that the future of the international order needs to be ‘anti-imperialist’ (Kotova and Tzouvala, 2022). This would require a critical change in the way in which Western powers justify their external military politics and abandon ‘civilizational’ and ‘exceptionalist’ interpretations of the law on the use of force and self defence. This is because, besides being illegitimate in their own rights, these interpretations of jus ad bellum are replicated mutatis mutandis by other actors to justify their own military activities. For example, the Russian Federation (Russia) referred to several instances of unlawful use of force by the United States (US) and other NATO powers to justify its aggression against Ukraine. Western powers’ ‘leading by example’ role in using force in international relations – despite the use of idealistic language– provides multi-polar competitors with pretexts to legitimise their own transgressions. Two years after this essay, there seems to be more evidence substantiating a comparison between Western and Russian ‘justifications’ of their military operations abroad. Building upon Kotova and Tzouvala’s suggestion, this article seeks to corroborate this claim by looking at Russia’s arguments justifying its invasion and de facto annexation of eastern Ukraine, showing that they are symmetrical – albeit different – to those of their Western counterparts. This article will explore the concept of regional imperialism within Russia’s ‘sphere of influence’ by analysing Russia’s justifications for its military interventions, particularly in Ukraine, and comparing these to similar actions in other post-Soviet territories. It will critically examine the pseudo-legal arguments deployed by Russia, such as self-defence and the protection of nationals abroad, and their continuity with Russia’s historical and geopolitical strategies. Next, the essay will contextualise Russia’s actions within a broader framework of Western exceptionalism and the normalization of the pre-emptive use of force. It will draw parallels between Russia’s justifications and those used by Western powers, particularly the US, in interventions in Kosovo, Iraq, Libya, and Syria. It will also highlight how they have historically justified the use of force on humanitarian grounds and as part of the ‘war on terror,’ often leading to selective applications of international law. This analysis will show how the erosion of standards in international norms has led to these distorted but symmetrical approaches in the multi-polar landscape, especially when it comes to international relations between great powers and (politically) smaller states. This proves that the future of international relations necessitates an anti-imperialist approach where power is not concentrated in the hands of a few dominant states but is distributed equitably among all nations. This new order should reject practices of intervention and domination, foster genuine multilateralism, and respect national sovereignty and the right to self-determination and equality.

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ORCID for Andrea Maria Pelliconi: orcid.org/0009-0004-0919-4558

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