Global policeman

Global policeman (or world police) is an informal term for a superpower which seeks or claims the right to intervene in other sovereign states. It has been used, firstly for the United Kingdom and, since 1945, for the United States, though it has been suggested that China has been seeking to take over the role in the 21st century. The two terms hegemon and global policeman are not identical in meaning. The former term defines capacity for dominant control anywhere on earth, whereas the latter may also include small or large areas outside control, along with monitoring and attempted enforcements, but does not define any level of effectiveness. No formal recognition of this position exists. Theoretically, in international law, all nations are equal; "par in parem non habet imperium", no authority between equals, is the principle applied, although, in reality some states are relatively more powerful than others. States are "immortal" and cannot be indicted. Within states, law restrains and limits power; between states, the opposite is true. The Peelian principles of policing include: the duty to prevent crime, keep the peace and uphold the law, with the consent of the public, and with minimal use of force and restraint; to act impartially; and not to usurp the powers of the judiciary. The latter standard requires a presumption of innocence. Candidates for police recruitment and promotion are appointed on merit, whereas a 'global policeman' is self-appointed faute de mieux. Within states, a monopoly on violence is the norm; the police may carry weapons, but few others do so (the US is an exception, prompting Charles Lane to ask if it is 'really a state') Internationally, a 'global policeman' is but one heavily armed state among two hundred others. To confer the role of 'global policeman' on any self-interested, expansionary state implies a conflict of interest. States wage war with maximum force; engage in arms sales; form alliances and thus lack impartiality. The UK made efforts to end the slave trade through the West Africa Squadron.