I am not "reiterating the liberal myth of laws being a force unto themselves".
That is a straw man you are beating.
See my reply to Hive account@lukestokes below for further details on my actual position.

I agree that ultimately all governmental authority derives from a monopoly on the use of force, but such monopoly depends on the support of the people. If too many people are unhappy with the government competitors for the use of force will arise and fight it out until one wins.
If too little is spent on defence by one government then another nation state's government will conquer it and make their monopoly area bigger.

Keeping people happy is best achieved by democracy and rule of law such as is set out in US Constitution.