Hugo Grotius and the law of friendship

Bibliographic Data

ID12923506
AuthorsCharlie Bradley (0009-0006-6870-2916, University of Nottingham, corresponding author)
Year2026
Publication date2026-02-24
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of International Political Theory (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1755-0882 • E-ISSN: 1755-1722
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/17550882261425815
OpenAlexW7131354689
LanguageEN
References cited38

Friendship is a concept often evoked on the international stage and which has a long history in international thought. Despite falling to the sidelines for some time, it is experiencing a resurgence of interest. This paper sets out the position of friendship in the international thought of Hugo Grotius. I show that Grotius develops a law of friendship ( amicitiae lex ) which he incorporates into his just war theory. I argue that he makes a conceptual distinction between allies ( socii ) and friends ( amici ). The distinction concerns the underlying legal bases upon which they are founded. I therefore argue that we can map this distinction onto another of Grotius’s distinctions, that between perfect and imperfect rights. This is an important point because an infringement of a perfect right can result in war, but an infringement of an imperfect right cannot. Additionally, I highlight the supererogatory character to which Grotius accords friendship. I conclude by arguing that friendship is an important concept in Grotius’s international thought. I also suggest that Grotius is an instructive figure not only for those engaged in friendship’s revival but also for those concerned with the identity and relations of states

Character (mathematics · Friendship · Identity (music · Imperfect · International law · International relations · Flannery O'Connor and Thomas Merton · Seventeenth-Century Political and Philosophical Thought · War, Ethics, and Justification

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