The Study About The International Legitimacy Of National Problem

By examining the representative and mainstream ideas of legitimacy, especially derived from great figures such as Max Weber, John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Karl Schmidt, Jurgen Habermas, Benjamin Barber and Hannah Arendt, this thesis explores the inherent intellectual paths. Then the topic of this thesis brings to light some general points in the studies of legitimacy, which are authority approach in objective direction and approve approach in subjective direction. From this perspective of division, we can infer that the authority approach in objective direction, consisting of Locke, Rousseau, Habermas, Barber and Arendt, occupies the mainstream status, however, the approve approach in subjective direction supported by Max Weber and Karl Schmidt keeps a strong contesting position. To some extent, it is the changing tension in these two approaches of legitimacy studies that depict the matrix and routine map of legitimacy theories and practices.Building on these grounds of idea, the author will give some points of view about international legitimacy. The term of international legitimacy refers to domestic behavior and ideas of value are accepted by majorities of nation-states in world during these ideas are carried out, then the domestic behavior and ideas of value will be generally valid and becomes frames of reference in regulating, guiding and evaluating some domestic or international behavior and ideas of value.Though the international legitimacy transcend the national borders, we must realize that the two characters mentioned above which are authority approach in objective direction and approve approach in subjective direction will not lose their validation. The logic here is: (1) the approve approach in subjective direction characterized of voluntary approve contending liberty, equality, human rights and democracy is accepted and enforced by almost nation-states for these principles represent the basic currency of political civilization; (2) the authority approach in objective direction characterized of domination and obedience face various opposition for ignoring other countries'historical and cultural situations, these unilateral ideas of value about liberty, equality, human rights and democracy always confuse other countries, even cause political turbulence and frequent governmental change.Consequently, this thesis explains nation determination should be an issue of equal deliberation, voluntary approve and mutual identity under a frame of nation-state, rather than an issue concerning"one nation becomes one state", by introducing the term of nation determination and its historical evolution. Then this thesis analyzes two main trends of contemporary nation issues in international legitimacy. The fruits of thought are that the foundation of European Union reflects the approve approach in subjective direction, and the Iraq War and American occupation reflect the authority approach in objective direction from the perspectives of nation issues in international legitimacy. Especially, according to Michael Walzer, this authority approach in objective direction is a"comprehensible universalism". Under Jiang Yi-huah's explanation, comprehensible universalism refers to attempts to reduce all human activities, social constructions and political practices into a sole principle, or a philosophical doctrine excluding other contested ideas of good and ill. For its anti-voluntary approve approach in subjective direction,, the authority approach of international legitimacy will not became the chords in historical trend.Afterwards, this thesis combines several key concepts such as sovereign, democracy and human rights focused on liberal equality in political theory, especially in the analyses of democracy and human rights, to explore the positive relationship with the approve approach in subjective direction, and the negative relationship with the authority approach in objective direction which we should focus and avoid. Specifically, (1) international legitimacy not only challenges the sovereign of their derived states, also challenges the new sovereign derived from the nation issues in international legitimacy; (2) democracy should extend its connotation from election and plural oligarch to a more extensive and rich meaning, for democratic politics always devoid its principle such as liberty, equality, humanism, justice, progress and modernity, which construct the western dominant ideas of value; (3) as a more important ground and pillar of basic values of international legitimacy, the term of liberty should be understand as subjective voluntary willingness, rather than the positive liberty harboring intentions of state interference and arbitrary; (4) equality should be a harmless and core human idea of value, though there are a lot of latent abuses such as majority arbitrary, extreme individualism and centralization of state power; and the ideas of equality will cause non-equality, arbitrary and despotism if carried out without necessary limitation; (5) alienation of human rights will bring to alienation of nation issues, which is the reflection of objective direction of international legitimacy concerning nation issue in fields of human rights.Ultimately, combining two trends in studies of international legitimacy, this thesis points that the strategies of nation-state, especially the developing multi-national states, to avoid these negative consequences. It should get legitimate support from the main approve approach in subjective direction, and dissolve the countercurrent in the authority approach in objective direction.