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Empirical research shows that armed groups may provide governance services to civilians where they have established some form of control over a territory or population. At the same time, armed groups often pursue policies designed to enhance legitimacy in order to strengthen their claim to power. This gives rise to the question: Does the virtuous governance circle, to which this special volume is dedicated, also apply to governance efforts on the part of armed groups and which conditions must be fulfilled in order for the virtuous circle to operate? The article highlights that the contradictory demands of the multiple audiences of legitimacy with which armed groups need to communicate, create a dilemma that may interrupt the virtuous circle. Bringing together international legal and political science discourses on armed group governance, the article argues that the state-centric fabric of the international legal framework contributes significantly to this process.

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The worldwide populist wave has contributed to a perception that international law is currently in a state of crisis. This article examines how far populist governments have challenged prevailing interpretations of international law. The article links structural features of populism with an analysis of populist governmental strategies and argumentative practices. It demonstrates that, in their rhetoric, populist governments promote an understanding of international law as a mere law of coordination. However, this is not entirely reflected in their legal practices where an instrumental, cherry-picking approach prevails. The article concludes that policies of populist governments affect the current state of international law on two different levels: in the political sphere, their practices alter the general environment in which legal rules are interpreted and, in the legal sphere, populist governments push for changes in the interpretation of established international legal rules. The article substantiates these propositions by focusing on the principle of non-intervention and foreign funding for non-governmental organizations.

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