In short, a dizzying question: can strength be preferable to law? Personalities like Dominique de Villepin reject this idea. None of them mourn Ali Khamenei’s fate, but they rightly emphasize how uncertain the consequences of this operation are, remind us that democracy cannot be exported through bombs, and stress the need for an international legal order. Otherwise, two or three predatory empires will dictate terms to us.
But in a world dominated by brutality and cynicism, simply invoking international law is no longer sufficient. This body of conventions meant to prevent wars and their crimes has sadly not been respected for a long time. The United States trampled on it in Iraq in 2003. Russia in Georgia and Ukraine. The United States again by kidnapping a head of state, Nicolas Maduro. As for the UN, it has lost influence and money. Its Security Council is locked by authoritarian states.
In the world of Trump, Xi, and Putin, there is only one language spoken, the language of power. While this may not be new, currently this rule no longer bothers with diplomatic niceties. Power is the key. In this regard, the announcements made by Emmanuel Macron on Monday, who intends to involve eight European countries in an “advanced nuclear deterrent”, have the merit of making us a little stronger, or less weak.
Because it calls for cooperation to resolve conflicts, because it upholds respect for fundamental freedoms, the UN Charter remains a valuable compass. It sets a course that is unattainable without strong defenders. We should not choose between law and force, but rather law and force.
