Prior to the end of the Cold War, the word 'democracy' was rarely used by international lawyers. Few international organisations supported democratic governance, and the criteria for recognition of governments took little account of whether regimes enjoyed a popular mandate. But the events of 1989–1991 profoundly shook old assumptions. Democratic Governance and International Law attempts to assess international law's new-found interest in fostering transitions to democracy. Is an entitlement to democratic government now emerging in international law? If so, what are its normative foundations? How have global and regional organisations encouraged transitions to democracy, and are their efforts consistent with their constitutional frameworks? How should international law react to elections in which profoundly anti-democratic parties win the vote? In this volume, leading legal scholars grapple with these and other questions to assess the future of international law on this most domestic of questions.

‘In sum, the collection provides the reader with a host of factual information and a wealth of critical and diverse ideas as to if and how the international legal system Is affected by the ‘wave of democratization’ following the end of the Cold War. Democratic Governance and International Law proves to be an indispensable reading for everyone interested in the future developments in a broad variety of areas of international law, influenced by the rise of the principle of democratic legitimacy.’

Karsten Nowrot Source: German Yearbook of International Law