Symposium

The Crime of Aggressive War

Author: Michael Walzer (Princeton University)

Abstract

What is the specific wrong that constitutes aggression? Years ago, I argued that the wrong was to force people to fight and die in defense of the state that protects their common life and the territory on which that common life is lived (it has to be lived somewhere). It is not just the crossing of the border that constitutes the wrong but the threat—to the community and its members—that the crossing signifies.

Keywords: War, Nuremberg War Crime Trials, Nuremberg, Germany, 1945-1949, Aggression (International law), Self defense (International law), Sovereignty, International

How to Cite: Walzer, M. (2007) “The Crime of Aggressive War”, Washington University Global Studies Law Review. 6(3).