Regulating the Use of Force in International Law: Stability and Change. By Russell Buchan and Nicholas Tsagourias

Abstract

Dr Buchan and Professor Tsagourias have added a new monograph on the use of force to the long list of publications on this topic. The book combines coverage of the usual topics on this subject—including the prohibition of the use of force, the right of self-defence, the UN collective security system and humanitarian intervention—alongside some topics not usually covered in a work on the jus ad bellum. These include the role of non-state actors within the law regulating the use of force, the law on ‘cyber warfare’, the role of law and morality, and UN peacekeeping operations. The authors bring their own considerable expertise and experience in teaching and publishing on topics covered and related to the those in the book. There is no need to argue the relevance of the topic itself, as any glance at the news media will confirm, with numerous armed conflicts ongoing and others brewing and capable of erupting at relatively short notice. Likewise, the controversies on various issues, ranging from permissible reactions to humanitarian crises to the applicability of the law relating to the use of force to new threats and technologies continue to fuel debate within the disciplines of international law and relations. As such it is to be welcomed that two authors with an established reputation within the field should add their contribution to the debates on these issues.