The Use of Force and International Law

One theme that it is hoped emerges from this book is that the law governing the use of force is not purely epiphenomenal. It is possible to take a counterfactual approach and suggest that as states more often than not refrain from resorting to force the law clearly has a restraining influence upon their actions. However, such assumptions must give way to the reality that the law actually has a far more subtle influence over the actions of states. There can be no escaping the fact that states, and some more often than others, resort to force. Yet, states clearly engage with the law in justifying their actions, responding to those of other states, and in attempting to shape the contours of the law through interpretation and practice. While there are occasions when states use force without offering a legal justification for doing so, as was the case with the US strikes against Syria in April 2017, it is more often the case that states engage in justificatory discourse of a legal nature which is indicative that they consider the law to be at least of some relevance, even if violations of its strictures are not supported by clear and reliable enforcement mechanisms. It arguably follows, then, that if they feel compelled to offer a justification they feel similarly compelled to adjust their actions to make them at least plausible within the substantive rules and procedures that exist. Furthermore, the law in this area, if nothing else, and as is arguably the case with much of international law, provides a language and framework through which discursive intercourse between states can occur.

A further theme that hopefully emerges through the chapters of this book is that there exists no general appetite amongst states for either the scrapping, rewriting or radical reinterpretation of the the rules within the UN Charter and customary principles governing the use of force which both enable and restrain state action. That is not to say, however, that the rules have not been constantly challenged and, in some cases, adapted to meet contemporary threats and challenges.