8. Emancipation from Violence Through Global Law and Institutions: A Post-Deutschian Perspective

From a post-Deutschian perspective, common institutions may aggravate the problem of conflicts and violence, but they can also be part of its solution. Contradictions and conflicts arise from shared processes and especially those of global political economy. Contradictions can be overcome through learning and building common institutions. Social contexts differ in terms of their self-transformative capacity, which is closely related to the question of democracy. While a hardening will means trouble; actors, rules and institutions can be made more open to challenge and revision. In essence, what emerges from these considerations is a normative vision of, and an argument for, pluralism and democratic governance of the world system. This is not a panacea, however, and many contingencies must be taken into account.