Why "The Rights of War and Peace"?
Why I picked these three volumes by Grotius and what I hope to gain out of them
During the course of my PhD in Political Science I spent quite a bit of time going over a range of topics in the field to see what exactly I wanted to research when it came time to do my dissertation. Ultimately, and for a variety of reasons, I ended up conducting research related to territorial disputes involving China and a number of its neighboring states. In the process of doing so, I spent quite a bit of time going over how these territorial disputes did (or did not) lead to violence and war between these states, though that was not the main focus of the dissertation itself. International law and the rights/restrictions of state engagement in war was an interesting part of this process as well, but again not the main focus of this project.
Since the completion of my dissertation, and especially following the launching of this Substack account, I have been considering delving more in-depth into the place of international law and conflict between states in the international system. In looking around for various topics or books to engage with, I cam across a three volume collection titled “The Rights of War and Peace” by Hugo Grotius (1583-1645). Grotius himself is one of several individuals who laid the foundations of international law, and it would be this work that would go on to have a massive influence on the field and international politics in general. The volumes themselves are quite hefty as well, coming in at over 2000 pages! Each volume has a specific focus:
Volume 1: Grotius’ conception of war, natural justice, and arguments that sometimes war is justifiable.
Volume 2: The three just causes for war, and discussions of a range of circumstances in which the rights of war apply or do not.
Volume 3: The examination of what rules govern the conduct of war once it has begun, and arguments that all parties to war (justified or not) are bound by these rules.
So what exactly is my plan then?
In the weeks and months ahead, I will be reading and posting on these books, section by section. These posts will include direct quotes/sections as written by Grotius himself, and my reactions to it in my own words. These reactions should be taken as my own perspectives and thoughts on passages and topics as I engage with them, and might well range from a focus on a single word/concept all the way to the application of the passage to a more recent event or war. Also, these reactions should not be taken as definitive conclusions/interpretations that far more qualified scholars than I are more suited to make.
It is my plan that, in reading and writing on these volumes, I will educate myself on the content of Grotius’ work, gain a greater understanding of international law, and engage a bit more with international law as it applies to war in general. Hopefully, my posting will also cause you, my readers, to become engaged with the works as well to think a bit more about an interesting area of international law and international relations.
Note: If you would like to follow along, or simply just read the volumes yourself, the link embedded into “The Rights of War and Peace” is an affiliate link to purchase them from Amazon. Should you purchase this three volume work via my link, I will receive a fee at no additional cost to you. This helps fund my research and writing work.