We're a world away from rule Britannia

IN THE aftermath of the Second World War, there was a widespread feeling that a new kind of international rule was needed to prevent a genocidal tyranny like Nazism recurring.

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It was a noble impulse that led to the creation of the United Nations in 1945 and the European Convention on Human Rights in 1950, as well as a host of other initiatives that aimed to promote democracy and humanitarian solidarity across the planet.

But now, decades later, the dream of global governance is beginning to turn into a nightmare. So many international bodies have become bloated, self-serving bureaucracies that are failing in their objectives.

That is true of the UN itself. Its Security Council has not made the world more secure. Its African Development Programme has not developed Africa.

Its recent attempts at disarmament have left the dictatorship of North Korea with a dangerous arsenal of nuclear weaponry and the brutal regime of Iran on the verge of possessing one.

Just as disturbing is how, in the hands of politically motivated campaigners, the growing supremacy of international law now undermines national freedoms and integrity.