Troy Jodok
University of Innsbruck.
Int Relat (David Davies Mem Inst Int Stud). 2020 Dec;34(4):565-582. doi: 10.1177/0047117820904094. Epub 2020 Feb 4.
This article argues that how the United Nations (UN) conceptualizes legitimacy is not only a matter of legalism or power politics. The UN's conception of legitimacy also utilizes concepts, language and symbolism from the religious realm. Understanding the entanglement between political and religious concepts and the ways of their verbalization at the agential level sheds light on how legitimacy became to be acknowledged as an integral part of the UN and how it changes. At the constitutional level, the article examines phrases and 'verbal symbols', enshrined in the Charter of the 'secular church' UN. They evoke intrinsic legitimacy claims based on religious concepts and discourse such as hope and salvation. At the agential level, the article illustrates how the Secretary-General verbalizes those abstract constitutional principles of legitimacy. Religious language and symbolism in the constitutional framework and agential practice of the UN does not necessarily produce an exclusive form of legitimacy. This article shows, however, that legitimacy as nested in the UN's constitutional setting cannot exist without religious templates because they remain a matter of a 'cultural frame'.
本文认为，联合国如何界定合法性，并非只是法律主义或权力政治的问题。联合国对合法性的概念界定还运用了宗教领域的概念、语言和象征手法。理解政治与宗教概念之间的交织以及它们在行动层面的表述方式，有助于揭示合法性如何成为联合国不可或缺的一部分以及它是如何变化的。在宪法层面，本文审视了“世俗教会”——联合国宪章中所体现的措辞和“语言符号”。它们唤起了基于希望和救赎等宗教概念及话语的内在合法性主张。在行动层面，本文阐述了秘书长如何将那些抽象的合法性宪法原则进行表述。联合国宪法框架和行动实践中的宗教语言及象征手法，并不一定会产生一种排他性的合法性形式。然而，本文表明，嵌套于联合国宪法框架中的合法性若没有宗教模板便无法存在，因为它们仍是一种“文化框架”。
