Politicization as a stimulus for processes of legalization and de-legalization: The Responsibility to Protect and the United Nations

The article shows the interdependence of politicization and legalization dynamics. It illustrates the non-linearity of legalization by the development of the prohibition of the use of force since 1991 and shows that legalization can also revert into de-legalization. Politicization serves as a trigger for legalization: It resulted in an increased significance of human rights and in the extension of Article 39 UN Charta. This led to the expansion of the exemptions of the prohibition of the use of force. A de-legalization aroused out of the intervention in Kosovo by the NATO, and generated a new politicization. This led to the emergence of the responsibility to protect and further legalization.