Unilateral acts in international relations: Accepting the limits of international law

Among international lawyers, unilateralism often seems tantamount to a dirty word. To characterize an action as 'unilateral' is to condemn it. Arrogance, disregard for others, domination, even illegality - these are the qualities that the term 'unilateralism' evokes. If an action is unilateral, one need not even consider whether it is substantively right or wrong; the fact that it is undertaken by a single state rather than the 'international community,' in itself, makes it illegitimate.