The Crime of Aggressive War

Authors

Michael Walzer, Princeton University

Publication Title

Washington University Global Studies Law Review

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.

Recommended Citation

Michael Walzer, The Crime of Aggressive War, 6 Wash. U. Global Stud. L. Rev. 635 (2007),
https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_globalstudies/vol6/iss3/14