Filling the Gaps: The Expansion of International Humanitarian Law and the Juridification of the Free-Fighter
In: Journal of International Humanitarian Legal StudiesSearch for other papers by Amanda Alexander in
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Abstract
This article traces the expansion of international law from the Hague Conventions, where only a state’s soldiers had legal status, to the contemporary understanding that international law governs all participants in conflict. This can be seen as a humanitarian shift that diminishes state power. This article, however, argues that the Hague Conventions only established a limited sphere of formal law because delegates deliberately left free-fighters outside the law, to be governed by their own will and moral code. In doing so, delegates echoed a philosophical tradition that situates true freedom outside the state. As this article shows, the expansion of law to include such fighters required the replacement of such alternative codes with a renewed and extended range of formal legal criteria. As such, the expansion of international law to the realm outside the state has led to a reaffirmation of that law which is synonymous with the state.
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| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
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Filling the Gaps: The Expansion of International Humanitarian Law and the Juridification of the Free-Fighter
In: Journal of International Humanitarian Legal StudiesSearch for other papers by Amanda Alexander in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Abstract
This article traces the expansion of international law from the Hague Conventions, where only a state’s soldiers had legal status, to the contemporary understanding that international law governs all participants in conflict. This can be seen as a humanitarian shift that diminishes state power. This article, however, argues that the Hague Conventions only established a limited sphere of formal law because delegates deliberately left free-fighters outside the law, to be governed by their own will and moral code. In doing so, delegates echoed a philosophical tradition that situates true freedom outside the state. As this article shows, the expansion of law to include such fighters required the replacement of such alternative codes with a renewed and extended range of formal legal criteria. As such, the expansion of international law to the realm outside the state has led to a reaffirmation of that law which is synonymous with the state.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 685 | 270 | 32 |
| Full Text Views | 333 | 23 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 559 | 59 | 0 |
