There is a growling of a discontent, an unrest, just below the surface, festering ready to erupt into a boil of frustration. The salve of the rule of law diluted or unavailable. The world today shifts to the right or spins helpless, struggling to find an anchor, a safe harbor in which to balance itself.

There is no light towards which we can step towards, hopeful that mankind is moving in a direction that is right and proper. Our kaleidoscopic future looms, where tried and true customs and norms shrink from this new thinking of looking inward and away from a global village that was beginning to change the world stage.

In another context we have been here before. For 50 years we saw a stasis that saw the rise of the dictator. The Cold War was a desperate time trying to maintain a balance that would avoid Armageddon. Death and destruction by heads of state against their own citizens was rampant, with little checks against internal struggles. Mankind simply looked the other way as long as loyalty towards one side or the other was maintained. Tens of millions perished, disappearing into the sands of time forgotten as if they never existed.

As the Cold War ended there was a sense of optimism that we had changed for the better, the rule of law began to take hold, the UN taking its intended position of guiding the international community [PDF] towards a real peace and security never attained before. Tyranny shrank before this blinding light and dictators faced accountability. The new millennium held promise, more so than any other millennial event.

It all came crashing down with the towers on September 11, 2001. A fundamental shift took place, at the time seemingly correct, wrapped in a ragged cloth of righteous fury. But the pain of that day stripped away our innocence, our hope, our desire to build a global village where all mankind would benefit. America turned into itself, seemingly trying to lead, to fight against a new and elusive adversary, yet chasing its tail against itself. American civil liberties were challenged. The world watched and stepped away, subtly looking for other leadership and other ways to survive in a world of struggle with a weakened America, the loss of a land that was a bright and shining light that dimmed, barely visible in the storm of extremism that blew across the world.

To survive nation-states began to look for their own solutions seeking new directions. Major international institutions such as the UN, the North American Treaty Organization (NATO), the European Union (EU) and the International Criminal Court (ICC) shrank in influence against the onslaught of that extremism. There seemed to be no solutions that were viable. The world wobbling, citizens looked to new political leaders who promised to restore greatness, an elusive idea that cannot be attained alone in this new century. The rise of the nationalistic right a desperate attempt to grasp hold of the fog of this new kaleidoscopic world.

The world is heading into a new darkened age, perhaps to an inevitable conflict of unimaginable dimension. There is little to counter this slide into the dark. Certainly America is no longer that counterweight. An insecure Europe, no longer a meaningful geopolitical entity, cannot step up. The rule of law is lost in the muddle of hate and the there is a loss of any moral compass, particularly in America. “Nothing matters” replaces “from many one” as America’s national motto. In the short and medium term there appears to be no solution. It is hoped that the world will not dissolve while this new global society seeks a new path.

The rule of law must be that path upon which mankind must tread in the long term or we will surely slide down the path into a new darkened age. One has to wonder rhetorically whether Osama Bin Laden actually achieved what he set out to do—see a weakened America fade while western civilization fed upon itself in the moral vacuum left by that America, seeing extremism wrapped in the cloak of Islam causing doubt and fear about the viability of international norms. It remains to be seen. As the new American president stumbles about the world, the future does not augur well.

David M. Crane is a professor at Syracuse University College of Law. He is the founding Chief Prosecutor of the International War Crimes Tribunal in West Africa called the Special Court for Sierra Leone. He is also the founder of the Syrian Accountability Project.

Suggested citation: David M. Crane, A Darkened Age—The Rule of Law in Protecting Morality and Humanity, JURIST – Academic Commentary, June 6, 2017, http://jurist.org/forum/2017/06/David-Crane-a-darkened-age.php

This article was prepared for publication by <aherf=” jurist_search.php?q=”Krista” grobelny”=””>Krista Grobelny, Assistant Editor for JURIST Commentary. Please direct any questions ot comments to her at <ahref=”mailto:commentary@jurist.org”>commentary@jurist.org

ICTJ In Focus 69

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ICTJ In Focus 69 June 2017

In Focus “You Don’t Forget Your Torturers”: Wachira Waheire’s 30-Year Quest for Justice in KenyaIn 1986, Wachira Waheire was whisked off the street, taken to Kenya’s most infamous torture chamber, and sentenced to four years in prison. Over the next 30 years, his quest for justice led him to meetings with his torturers to courtroom showdowns with the country’s Attorney General. Discover his ongoing struggle for truth, acknowledgement, and reparations alongside all survivors of abuse in Kenya. Read More… Subscribe Forward to a Friend Do you know someone that may be interested in the ICTJ newsletter? View Newsletter Archive Other News “Left Behind”: Young Photographers Capture Marginalization in TunisiaOngoing economic and social inequality, a legacy of the dictatorship, affects Tunisians across generations, but has particularly pronounced impacts on young people. ICTJ worked with four young photographers to confront the consequences of marginalization and explore its impacts on Tunisian youth. Their four photo galleries comprise the exhibition “Marginalization in Tunisia: Images of an Invisible Repression.” Read More… The Bumpy Road to Peace and Accountability: Transitional Justice in the African Great Lakes RegionIn Africa’s Great Lakes region, countries face common challenges like bad governance, inequitable distribution of natural resources, and ethnic divisions. As nations like Burundi, Central African Republic and South Sudan work towards peacebuilding and accountability, they should learn from what has worked and what has not in neighboring countries, writes Sarah Kihika Kasande, ICTJ’s Head of Office in Uganda. Read More… Publications Justice Mosaics: How Context Shapes Transitional Justice in Fractured Societies What hope is there for justice for victims of atrocities in profoundly fractured societies, where systems of government have broken down and social and political divisions run deep? What is the role of transitional justice in forging peace in countries like Colombia, after decades of conflict? Or in countries like Tunisia, after years of repression and corrosive corruption? View Report The Case for Action on Transitional Justice and DisplacementAs the refugee crisis deepens, does action on transitional justice issues have to wait for peace? A new paper explores what sort of consultation and documentation work can be done now, while conflict is ongoing, to shape outcomes moving forward. View Report More Publications Upcoming Events June 19, 2017 The Future of Syria Location: The Hague View Details June 25 – 29, 2017 Large-Scale Violence and Its Aftermaths The United States and the World Location: Kean University, New Jersey View Details More Events

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