The Chaotic Status of the Laws of War and the Urgent Necessity for Their Revision
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9548696 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Josef L Kunz (corresponding author) |
| Year | 1951 |
| Volume | 45 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 37-61 |
| Publication date | 1951-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Journal of International Law (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0002-9300 • E-ISSN: 2161-7953 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/2194782 |
| OpenAlex | W4240524114 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 8 |
| References cited | 8 |
Once more, as he did sixteen years ago, this writer wants to raise his voice in order to point at the actual chaotic status of the laws of war, at the grave inherent dangers, and at the urgent necessity for the revision of this part of international law. The problem involves the very survival of our Western Christian civilization, if not of mankind. Under these circumstances it becomes the duty of an international lawyer to treat this subject, notwithstanding its “unpopularity” since 1920. It was Grotius who, under the impression of the “total war” of thirty years urged upon men the necessity of the “temperamenta belli.” It is amazing to see that the men of this generation, living under a more terrible total war, turn their backs upon the laws of war. This neglect is the outcome of different and often contradictory ideologies: indifference, apathy, over-optimistic wishful thinking, political wishes to keep one’s hands free in the next war, and pessimistic fatalism. All the arguments for this neglect are untenable, are in contradiction with the law as well as the facts; and yet, strong drives by writers and statesmen have nearly succeeded in putting over men a veil of voluntary blindness in adopting a policy of the ostrich which may lead to disaster, to the return of new and more terrible “dark ages.” A full exposé would need a book, not an article. But while no full picture can be given here, it will be attempted to give, at least, a complete sketch, dealing with the law and the facts, with the arguments pro and con
Civilization · Contradiction · Duty · Epistemology · Ideology · Neglect · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Global Peace and Security Dynamics · International Law and Human Rights · Law · Philosophy · Psychology · Seventeenth-Century Political and Philosophical Thought
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| Unique citing works | 8 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,12 |
| Citation span | 1961 - 2017 (57) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 8 |