An ideology of war, not peace: jus in bello and the Grotian tradition of war

Abstract

The Grotian tradition of war developed in a particular manner in the last quarter of the nineteenth century in the context of the framing of the modern laws of war. This article will seek to trace the core elements of this tradition, which drew heavily on the writings of Hugo Grotius (1583–1645). Its important values were law, order, power, and an attachment to the sovereignty of the state. As the Grotian tradition of war was ‘index‐linked’ to legitimate power, its central ambition was to limit the rights of belligerency to a particular class of participant (the soldier), and to exclude all others from the right to become actively involved in political or military action in times of war and military occupation in nineteenth century Europe.