Power and the Law. A Question of Justice or Political Elites' Interests?

Research Paper (postgraduate) from the year 2018 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Topic: Public International Law and Human Rights, grade: 10, , course: Social Sciences / Power and Society, language: English, abstract: This paper contributes to the understanding of the relationship between law and power. Premised on the Hobbesian conceptualization of law as the command of the sovereign, this paper traces the resilience of this conceptualization through to the modern democratic states. It looks at the change of the sovereign from an individual to an office and now the diffusion of power through different systems of checks and balances instituted by the modern political system of democracy.

In doing this, the paper answers the question; to what extent is law the reflection of the wishes of political elites in a society? It explores the sources of law and the role of law as an organizing agent with a view of exposing the resilience of the political elite¿s interests in law and in the use of law. The paper finally concludes that despite the changing nature of political systems, political elites have been able to preserve the law as a tool at their service. They have used their law making power to express their wishes in the law as well as used the complex procedural nature of law with several actors involved to serve their interest.