LAW, POLITICS,

AND THE USE OF

FORCE

Outline
I. Just war doctrine
II. War in the twentieth century and the
evolution of doctrines of use of force
III. Regulation of the right to resort to force
A. The League of Nations Covenant
B. The Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928)
C. The Charter of the United Nations (1945)
1. Outlaws wars of aggression
2. Collective security
3. Recognizes the right of self-defense
4. What about anticipatory self-defense?
(Example: the invasion of Iraq)
IV. What influences norms regarding the use of
force?

I. Just War
Doctrine
Jus ad Bellum

Just War Doctrine/Theory

Legitimate authority

Elements

Just cause

Proportional response

Right intention

II. War in the 20th Century

Warsaw, September 1939.

War in the late

20th/21st Century

Reluctance to declare war

International versus civil war

Involvement of non-state entities

Evolution of the
Doctrine

Obvious difficulties with JWT for the 20th

century

From Just to Permissible

Toward a Ban on Offensive Wars

III. Legal Regulation of

the Right to Resort to
Force
Institutions
Principles

The League of Nations

Covenant

Art. 10: League

members to preserve
territorial integrity and
political independence
of all members from
external aggression.
Arts. 12-15: Restricted
the rights of members
to resort to war
Obligated the members
to avoid non-war
hostilities.
Muzzled from the Literary Digest
9/13/19

The Kellogg Briand

Pact (1928)

(The Paris General Treaty for

the Renunciation of War)

Kellogg, with
Prittwitz, and Keip.
August 27, 1928

The UN Charter
Article 2(4): members agree to...
refrain from the threat or use of
force against the territorial integrity
or political independence of any
state.
Article 33-38: obligate members to
seek peaceful solutions to disputes.

UN Charter Outlaws Wars of

Aggression
Chapter

VII, Article
39: empowers the
Security Council to
respond to acts of
aggression.
FIRST SESSION OF THE UN
SECURITY COUNCIL (London,
17/1/46).

What is Aggression?

FIRST SESSION OF THE GENERAL

ASSEMBLY(London, 10/1/46).

Use of armed force by a

state
First use of force
Activities that constitute
aggression
Plus what the Security
Council may determine
State responsibility

The 2003 Use of Force Against Iraq: A

Continuation of Collective Security?

A Chapter VII action

stemming from Iraqs
1990 attack on Kuwait?

Justified by compulsory
Security Council
Resolutions adopted
between 1990-2003?

Some key SC resolutions:

660 (August 1990)

678 (November 1990)

687 (April 1991)

1441 (November 2002)

Exhaustion of Peaceful
Remedies
Negotiate
For

in good faith

how long?

How

to do this in the case of

terrorism?

The Right to Self-Defense

Article 51 of the UN
Charter: recognizes
an inherent right of
collective
selfdefense of member
states
against
armed attack.

1991 UN IRAQ-KUWAIT
OBSERVER MISSION. Burning oil
wells and a destroyed Iraqi tank.
Kuwait, 25/3/91.

Anticipatory Self-Defense
Clear

and present danger of

aggression.

No

alternatives

Anticipatory Self-Defense and

the Invasion of Iraq
New

conditions: the
problem of weapons of
Mass destruction

Customary

international law
Practice
Justifies

a
reformulated test

Proportionality of Means
to Ends
The states interest has
to be serious enough to
justify war as a means.

World Trade Towers, 2001

Must

apply force
proportionally

Baghdad, 2003

Summary
Current

rules are influenced by just war

doctrine, but with more emphasis on
limiting war than ensuring justice.
21st century wars are difficult to regulate
through traditional international law
The resort to force is no longer
considered an inherent aspect of state
sovereignty
Self-defense is the only legitimate reason
for going to war under the UN Charter.

Thank You