Casus Belli: Unveiling the Catalyst, Decoding the Triggers of Conflict

By Fouad Sabry

What is Casus Belli

A casus belli is an act or an event that either provokes or is used to justify a war. A casus belli involves direct offenses or threats against the nation declaring the war, whereas a casus foederis involves offenses or threats against its ally-usually one bound by a mutual defense pact. Either may be considered an act of war. A declaration of war usually contains a description of the casus belli that has led the party in question to declare war on another party.

How you will benefit

(I) Insights, and validations about the following topics:

Chapter 1: Casus belli

Chapter 2: Gulf of Tonkin incident

Chapter 3: Gleiwitz incident

Chapter 4: USS Maddox

Chapter 5: USS Joseph Strauss

Chapter 6: USS Turner Joy

Chapter 7: Shelling of Mainila

Chapter 8: Operation Pierce Arrow

Chapter 9: Vietnam People's Navy

Chapter 10: DESOTO patrol

(II) Answering the public top questions about casus belli.

Who this book is for

Professionals, undergraduate and graduate students, enthusiasts, hobbyists, and those who want to go beyond basic knowledge or information for any kind of Casus Belli.

• Language: English
• Publisher: One Billion Knowledgeable
• Release date: Jun 3, 2024

Book preview

Chapter 1: Casus belli

A casus belli is an act or an occurrence that either starts a war or is used to justify one (Latin: casus belli, cause for war; plural: casus belli). Typically, a declaration of war includes an explanation of the casus belli—the circumstances that prompted the declaring party to go to war with the opposing side.

Through the writings of Hugo Grotius (1653), Cornelius van Bynkershoek (1707), and Jean-Jacques Burlamaqui (1732), among others, and as a result of the development of the political doctrine of jus ad bellum or just war theory, the term casus belli became widely used in Europe in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. and to explain why military action is necessary even without a formal declaration of war (as in: the lead up to the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution).

A government often lays out its justifications for starting a war, how it plans to win the war, and what steps others might take to prevent it. This is known as formally stating a casus belli. It makes an effort to show that going to war is only an option if all else fails (ultima ratio) and that there is a justifiable reason for doing so. At least three legal bases for going to war are recognized by contemporary international law: self-defense, the protection of an ally mandated by a treaty, and UN authorisation.

Greek for proschema is proschemata, which is plural, Thucydides introduced it in his History of the Peloponnesian War.

The justifications for war are listed in the proschemata, This may or may not correspond to the true causes, which Thucydides called prophasis (πρóφασις).

According to Thucydides, the three main justifications for going to war are:, honor, and interest, While the claimed reasons (as opposed to descriptions of acceptable ones) incorporate nationalistic or fear-mongering appeals, empirical reasons to be afraid).

Countries require a public rationale for attacking another nation in order to mobilize support for the conflict both internally and among prospective allies.

In the post-World War II era, the UN Charter forbids member nations from going to war, with the exception of: 1) self-defense against aggression, or the self-defense of an ally if treaty commitments demand it; and 2) unless the UN as a body has approved the operation in advance. Additionally, the UN retains the ability to request that member states act as a buffer against aggressive non-signatory governments.

According to Braumoeller (2019) However peculiar the casus belli may appear, there is typically one. Most war-related problems can be grouped into one of a limited number of categories. He enumerated the traditional issues in general terms, including territory, the formation or dissolution of nations, the defense of nation-state integrity, dynastic succession, and the defense of congregants of the same faith or nation.

Pretext is the legal term for a case that is purposely built on false information.

This section describes some of the more well-known and/or contentious casus belli instances that have happened in recent years.

According to the terms of the Treaty of Nanking, which ended the First Opium War, Europeans gained access to Chinese ports. In order to start the Second Opium War, France exploited Auguste Chapdelaine's execution as a casus belli. French missionary Chapdelaine was slain on February 29, 1856, in the province of Guangxi, which was off-limits to outsiders. In response, Guangzhou was swiftly taken over by British and French forces (Canton).

The Confederate attack on Fort Sumter (April 12–14, 1861) served as the Union's casus belli in the war, which was sparked by long-term dispute between the Northern and Southern States over moral issues posed by slavery as well as socioeconomic inequality.

Although a war with Spain was not immediately declared as a result of the sinking of the Maine, it did create a situation that made a diplomatic resolution impossible.

The basis for Austria-casus Hungary's belli against Serbia in July 1914 was Serbia's failure to look into whether Serbian government personnel were involved in the outfitting,