International Political Authority: On the Meaning and Scope of a Justified Hierarchy in International Relations (Voelsen & Schettler, 2019)

This article is a review of a paper titled International political authority: on the meaning and scope of a justified hierarchy in international relations written by Daniel Voelsen and Leon Schettler. The growing power and authority of international organizations has been perceived by many as a sign of a new global order where the concept of sovereignty of the state is replaced with the constitutional principles of democracy, human rights and the rule of law. Recently, a tendency has been observed to consider international organizations as autonomous, legitimate institutions possessing political authority. However, it is rather challenging to find one and the complex understanding of political authority that encompasses all components that construct it. Voelsen and Schettler offer a detailed analysis of the concepts of international authority that are present in the literature and even criticize them. In this article, the conducted research is reviewed and scrutinized in detail.