Wars of Law - by Tanisha M Fazal (Hardcover)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

In Wars of Law, Tanisha M. Fazal assesses the unintended consequences of the proliferation of the laws of war for the commencement, conduct, and conclusion of wars over the course of the past one hundred fifty years.

Fazal outlines three main arguments: early laws of war favored belligerents, but more recent additions have constrained them; this shift may be attributable to a growing divide between lawmakers and those who must comply with international humanitarian law; and lawmakers have been consistently inattentive to how rebel groups might receive these laws. By using the laws of war strategically, Fazal suggests, belligerents in both interstate and civil wars relate those laws to their big-picture goals.

Why have states stopped issuing formal declarations of war? Why have states stopped concluding formal peace treaties? Why are civil wars especially likely to end in peace treaties today? In addressing such questions, Fazal provides a lively and intriguing account of the implications of the laws of war.

Review Quotes

A landmark work on international politics and the law of armed conflicts, Wars of Law belongs on the bookshelf beside such major works as Michael Walzer's Just and Unjust Wars, David Kennedy's Of War and Law, James Morrow's Order Within Anarchy, and Sandesh Sivakumaran's The Law of Non-International Armed Conflict. Wars of Law marks an important departure from previous understandings of how warring parties follow or do not follow rules by highlighting the growing divide between law-makers and law-takers. This book stands as a good guideline for our future course of action.

Fazal brings this analysis to bear on contemporary IHL (International Humanitarian Law) policy issues and vexing questions, such as those about autonomous weapons, cyberwar, and rebel behavior in civil conflicts. Highly recommended for university libraries and collections specializing in international law and politics, security, peace and conflict studies, and defense policy.

Intriguing.... Skillfully blends quantitative and qualitative methods to produce something genuinely original.

This study adds much valuable material to the literature on international humanitarian law and on the efficacy of jus ad bellum and jus in bello, particularly in its exploration of whether, and why, states follow the formalities when it comes to armed conflict. Fazal's overview, analysis, and synthesis of the existing literature and quantitative databases on these questions will be immensely useful to students and scholars in this area.

You know what states rarely do nowadays? Issue formal declarations of war. You know why? Of course you don't, because you're not Tanisha Fazal, who knows more about the laws of war than you do. So you should read her book.

About the Author

Tanisha M. Fazal is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Minnesota. She is the author of State Death, winner of the Best Book Award of the APSA Conflict Processes Section.