Abstract

The attempt to distinguish between just and unjust wars began after WWI. At the close of the 20th century, however, this distinction is still unclear. Despite efforts by the League of Nations and the UN, no new international law has been found to replace the nomos of the earth grounded in the ius publicum Europaeum that collapsed at the end of the 19th century. Consequently, today aggressive wars are systematically being criminalized. Thus, in Just and Unjust Wars: A Moral Argument with Historical Illustrations (1977), Michael Walzer writes: “Aggression is the name we give to the crime of war” (p. 51) and attempts to revive the theory of just wars defined as limited wars.