The Ideal of a Legal World Order: A Reflection on the Possibility of a Humane Future

The article discusses one of the possible trajectories of global development leading to humane orders through the growth of authority and influence of international law and international courts. The well-known aggravation of conflict in the first decades of the current century has already led to polarization, the logical conclusion of which could be a new period of the Cold War. Two camps are being formed again, each of them including several centers. Variants of names are discussed and arguments in favor of choosing the pair ‘The World of Rules’ and ‘The World of Traditions’ are given. Humanistic development presupposes the prevention of wars, which is possible only if conflicts are resolved on the basis of law and the priority of judicial decisions, backed by the solidarity of the leading powers. The highest barrier to this is the commitment of the strongest states to maintain the fullest possible sovereignty in their foreign and domestic policies. Not only authoritarian regimes but also liberal democracies are not ready for any limitation of their sovereignty. A deep worldview gap in the attitude of politicians, experts, and societies to the future in terms of war and peace is revealed. The imperative to expand consciousness and language to overcome this gap, to include these centers in the legal world order, for the subsequent involvement of the global Limitrophe, i.e. a multitude of non-aligned states, is substantiated. It is shown that Immanuel Kant’s bold political ideas were only partially realized in the 20th century. Kant’s insights about the humanistic meaning of history through the achievement of ‘lawfulness’ primarily in interstate relations remain relevant and require their realization.