74 Law and Morality Abroad (to ca. ad 1550)a E u r o p e a n and Christian law, not extending to the furthest reaches of the
Earth.
Even within the bounds of the Eu ro pe an Christian world, forces were at
work that tended to undermine the cosmopolitan and universalistic vision
of which natural law was the centerpiece. With the passage of time, these
would assume ever greater importance— and would (eventually) displace
natural law from its status as the foundation of international law. Th at pro-
cess would take a considerable time to bear its fullest fruit— it would reach
its high point only in the nineteenth century— but the beginnings are to be
found in the Middle Ages.Unity Undermined
Challenges to the medieval universalist vision took place at various levels.
Th is occurred fi rst, on a relatively small scale, in Italy with the rise of the
communes. On a larger scale were the transalpine kingdoms. Accompany-
ing this pro cess, though connected only indirectly to it, was the rediscovery
of Aristotelian po liti cal philosophy, with its key notion that states or gov-
ernments are natural phenomena— and also are vehicles for the attainment
of the fulfi lling life. Th is was in marked contrast to the Christian idea of
government as being, at best, a necessary evil— an instrument for suppress-
ing or policing the basic depravity of the human character. Another impor-
tant feature of the Aristotelian picture of the state— also sharply at odds with
the Christian outlook— was the ideal of states as self- suffi cient and fi rmly
in de pen dent of one another. In the course of the Middle Ages, this spirit of
in de pen dence gained ground, slowly but steadily, against the universalist
claims of both emperor and pope, fi rst in Italy and then further afi eld.
Some (such as Dante) naturally regretted this pro cess as one of degenera-
tion from an ideal of unity and integration. Others saw it as a sign of free-
dom and self- determination of peoples. In either event, the pro cess set the
general shape of international law for many centuries to come. Th e central
problem of international law would not be how to enforce the command of a
global sovereign. Instead, it would be how to apply a general body of law
(such as natural law) to the activities of a welter of mutually in de pen dent
states.