The Relationship between Legality and Legitimacy: A Double-Edged Sword

Abstract

This comment on Thilo Marauhn’s chapter addresses the relationship between legality and legitimacy from a norm-related perspective. It inquires into the reasons for the two-dimensional relationship between legality and legitimacy through the lens of norm theory. It considers legal norms on the one hand and legitimacy norms on the other hand, interrogating how these different kinds of norms can coexist, interrelate, and influence each other and what functions they can fulfil in the international sphere. By doing so, it highlights to what extent legal norms and legitimacy norms compete and complement each other—where the double-edged sword in the relationship between legality and legitimacy can be used for undercutting or rather for defending each other.