Global Rule of Law or Global Rule of Law Enforcement? International Police Cooperation and Counterterrorism

• Author: Mathieu Deflem
• DOI: 10.1177/0002716205282256
• Published date: 01 January 2006
• Date: 01 January 2006
• Subject Matter: Articles

10.1177/0002716205282256THE ANNALS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMYGLOBAL RULE OF LAW OR GLOBAL RULE OF LAW ENFORCEMENT? January603

With increasing vigor since the events of September 11,

2001, police institutions across the globe have prolifer-

ated their counterterrorism strategies, including partici-

pation in international police organizations such as the

International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol).

This article discusses some of these developments in

light of the prospects of the development toward a global

rule of law.Based on the theory of police bureaucratiza-

tion, it is shown that police institutions have independ-

ently developed international structures and practices

irrespective of international accords. This article reveals

the dynamics of such international police efforts by

examining the counterterrorist policies of Interpol. It is

argued that the outcome of the relative separation

between international police practices, on one hand,

and global legal developments, on the other,will be criti-

cal in assessing any efforts to counteract the societal pro-

cesses and conditions that may facilitate the develop-

ment of terrorism on a global scale.

Keywords: international police cooperation; Interpol;

international terrorism; counterterrorism;

rule of law

In the modern state, real authority . . . rests nec-

essarily and unavoidably in the hands of the

bureaucracy.

—Max Weber

In the context of democratic societies, the

rule of law is guaranteed by the legitimacy legal

norms enjoy from those to whom such norms

apply,on one hand, and by the threat of enforce-

ment from specialized agents of control, on the

240 ANNALS, AAPSS, 603, January 2006

Mathieu Deflem is an associate professor in the Depart-

ment of Sociology at the University of South Carolina.

His research interests include the police dimensions of

counterterrorism, international police cooperation,

abortion policy, the sociological profession, and socio-

logical theory, especially in the area of the sociology of

law. His writings have appeared in dozens of journals

and books. Deflem is the author of Policing World Soci-

ety (Oxford, 2002) and editor of Terrorismand Counter-

Terrorism: Criminological Perspectives (Elsevier,2004)

and Habermas, Modernity, and Law (Sage, 1996). He

maintains an extensive professional Web site:

www.mathieudeflem.net.

DOI: 10.1177/0002716205282256

Global Rule

of Law or

Global Rule

of Law

Enforcement?

International

Police

Cooperation

and Counter-

terrorism

By

MATHIEU DEFLEM