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A Legitimate, Legal and Just War

A Legitimate, Legal and Just War

Kolín, Vilém

subjects: political science and international relations

paperback, 198 pp., 1. edition
published: september 2012
ISBN: 978-80-246-2054-1
recommended price: 230 czk

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summary

Today there is no consensus on the range of circumstances where the use of force is justified. In fact, the use of force threatens to be built on neither law, nor justice but on power alone. In this context a new international legal regime governing the use of force is more than a political necessity. This issue also applies to the use of force on humanitarian grounds in the so-called “humanitarian interventions”. This book has been written with the objective of contributing to the development of a new international legal regime governing the use of force. It analyses the notions of a legitimate, legal and just war and incorporates their common elements into a new paradigm of the lawful and justified use of force, which includes also humanitarian intervention. The model, drawing upon the principles of authority, ends, means and consequences provides guidance on the establishment of a new international legal regime. Being the first comprehensive publication printed in the Czech Republic exploring this internationally debated topic, the book provides new insights and is a valuable contribution to the gradually developing domestic debate on the questions germane to the use of force in international relations. It is primarily intended for international relations and law scholars, but it can also be used as a reference source in related courses.

table of contents

Abbreviations and Acronyms

I Introduction

The Collapse of the International Legal Regime Prohibiting the Use of Force in International Relations
Objective
Methodology

II The Meaning of A Legitimate War

Classical Antiquity
Thucydides
Aristotle
Cicero Late Antiquity
Augustine

Christendom from the High Middle Ages to the Early Modern Era
Luther
Aquinas
Erasmus
Vitoria

The Renaissance and the European System of States
Machiavelli
Bodin
Fénelon
Burke
Gentz

International Law in the Modern Era
Grotius
Hobbes
Pufendorf
Rachel
Wolff
Vattel

The Enlightenment
Abbé de Saint-Pierre
Montesquieu
Rousseau
Kant

State and Nation in the pre-War Period
Hegel
Mill
Treitschke
Bosanquet

The Era of Industrial Society
Cobden
List
Hilferding
Schumpeter

III The Meaning of a Legal War

The Sources of International Law

The Legalist Paradigm
The Prohibition on the Use of Force
Article 2(4) of the UN Charter
Collective Measures Article 39 of the UN Charter
Articles 41 and 42 of the UN Charter
The Right of Self-Defense
Article 51 of the UN Charter
The Revision of the Legalist Paradigm

IV The Meaning of A Just War

The Structure of the Just War Tradition
Just Cause
Legitimate Authority
Rightful Intention
Last Resort
Reasonable Prospect of Success
Discrimination Proportionality Ius post Bellum

V Conclusion

The Roots of the Problem
The Role of the United Nations
Towards a New Paradigm of the Lawful and Justified Use of Force in International Relations
Authority
Ends
Means
Consequences
Concluding Thoughts

Bibliography
Documents
Books
Articles
Links