The Crime of Aggression - (Human Rights and Crimes Against Humanity) by Noah Weisbord

Book Synopsis

A gripping behind-the-scenes account of the dramatic legal fight to hold leaders personally responsible for aggressive war

On July 17, 2018, starting an unjust war became a prosecutable international crime alongside genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. Instead of collective state responsibility, our leaders are now personally subject to indictment for crimes of aggression, from invasions and preemptions to drone strikes and cyberattacks. The Crime of Aggression is Noah Weisbord's riveting insider's account of the high-stakes legal fight to enact this historic legislation and hold politicians accountable for the wars they start.

Weisbord, a key drafter of the law for the International Criminal Court, takes readers behind the scenes of one of the most consequential legal dramas in modern international diplomacy. Drawing on in-depth interviews and his own invaluable insights, he sheds critical light on the motivations of the prosecutors, diplomats, and military strategists who championed the fledgling prohibition on unjust war--and those who tried to sink it. He untangles the complex history behind the measure, tracing how the crime of aggression was born at the Nuremberg trials only to fall dormant during the Cold War, and he draws lessons from such pivotal events as the collapse of the League of Nations, the rise of the United Nations, September 11, and the war on terror.

The power to try leaders for unjust war holds untold promise for the international order, but also great risk. In this incisive and vitally important book, Weisbord explains how judges in such cases can balance the imperatives of justice and peace, and how the fair prosecution of aggression can humanize modern statecraft.

Review Quotes

"[This] insightful book . . . offers a valuable and provocative thesis . . . . The time is ripe to align with thinkers such as Weisbord, who advance a bold step forward for the restoration of relative peace rather than descend in a hopeless spiral of endless, grievous aggression against fellow human beings."---Shelley Walia, Frontline

"A remarkable insider's account of the historical efforts to criminalize wars of aggression."---Payam Akhavan, Global Justice Journal

"Noah Weisbord has written as masterful an account of the century of legal toil dedicated to corralling the human urge to wage war as has yet found two covers . . . . Weisbord's work is that rarest of writings on legal matters: a kind of Decameron, a thoughtfully interconnected set of what might well be abstruse concepts, but told as a series of parables, aperçus, and case studies."---Brendan Howley, Literary Review of Canada

"Richly textured, eminently readable. . . . Masterful. . . . Riveting. . . . Overall, the book's engaging style and readability make it an ideal companion to a broad variety of courses in international law and international relations. It should also, in my view, be on the recommended reading list for governmental and intergovernmental lawyers, including military lawyers, who must address legal issues related to the use of force and international criminal law. The book provides an especially useful starting point for those lawyers as they begin to wrestle with the complex applications of the crime of aggression in actual practice."---Laura Dickinson, The American Journal of International Law

"Weisbord's prophetic voice . . . should be heard and attended to by any human rights organization aiming at genuine pertinency in the 2020s and beyond."---Brian Philips, Journal of Human Rights Practice

About the Author

Noah Weisbord is associate professor of law at Queen's University in Canada and served on the International Criminal Court's working group that drafted the crime of aggression. He lives in Kingston, Ontario.