I will follow this line of thought, and will consider the law’s use

of force to be but an aspect of the kind of institution it is

这里的it is作什么用、怎么样翻译呢？很感谢!

I will follow this line of thought, and will consider the law’s use of force to be but an aspect of the kind of institution it is.

it is 是定语从句，省略了作表语的关系代词 that。

that 指代aspect, it 指代 the laws use of force。

意思是：法律诉诸武力是这种规范的一个方面。（有时可以不翻译出来）

又如：

We think that’s where this animal was trapped and evolved into the species it is now.

大家觉得，那就是这种动物被困住的地方，在那里它们渐渐演化成现在的品种。