Hugo Grotius and International Relations Critique - Essay Example

Book Review Essay: Hugo Grotius and International Relations Word Count: 1500 Hugo Grotiuswas concerned with three main areas in international relations: the right of sovereign states; human rights; and the development of international law. Oftentimes Grotius's contribution to international relations is considered of paramount importance. It is sometimes "held that.Grotius is the father of international lawan advocate of the doctrine of the equality of sovereign stateswhich [means they] are vastly unequalin terms of their power, influence, and prestige, but also with regard to legal rights and freedoms which they enjoy."1 Sovereign states are unique in the sense that they are able to delegate their own matters. States which are not sovereign have encountered much difficulty because they are not autonomous. Sovereign states don't necessarily all have the same rights under international law. This is what makes the doctrine of equality in international law a difficult precept to enforce in reality. The definition of sovereignty is a very delicate matter which many people have not been able to agree on for years. The matter of whether or not a state is sovereign depends solely on whether there is a set of institutions which have direct control over a certain populace and region. "There are, however, themes which arise from Grotius's work which give shape to the contemporary discussion of human rights and intervention."2 One of these themes that arises is the connection between peace and liberty. Grotius felt that peace was necessary and integral to the development of liberty. Without liberty, there could be no peace ensured. If the people were not free, Grotius proffered that it was impossible to maintain any kind of lasting peace. Peace and liberty, therefore, were tenets that Grotius thought went hand in hand. Grotius thought that overall, countries' sovereignty was directly interrelated with whether or not there was peace around. If there was no peace, then there was likely not to be much liberty. This was Grotius's thinking. Peace and liberty were, ultimately, Grotius's capstones necessary for ensuring that a society was a safe and promising place to live. Obviously, with the example that will be shown later on with the Bosnian War, Bosnia was neither a peaceful place to live, nor was it a place in which there was much liberty for anyone, especially during wartime. International law is complicated in Grotius's view. "The contemporary problem of humanitarian intervention is another difficult aspect of the same matter. In the Grotian view, humanitarian intervention could be a just war."3 This means that a war, even though it is violent, would serve the purposes of international humanitarianism. In some peoples' views, this might be adverse to the purposes of humanitarianism. Technically, war is an adversarial practice. It might be considered antithethical to the processes of liberty and peace, which were discussed above. However, if war is the only way to propagate peace, perhaps it might be one of the avenues that is seriously considered. Just war theory posits that there are in fact circumstances in which war is warranted for achieving certain purposes. If one nation is, for example, oppressing another nation or not recognizing its sovereignty, this might be a reason a nation would decide to go to war. There may be other mitigating circumstances which would allow for people to go to war. Just war theory is difficult to defend and it is even harder to defend when one is the nation against whom war is being declared. However, people must understand that they cannot singlehandedly take over other peoples' countries. One example is the Bosnian War. For example, several Bosniaks were taken advantage of in the Bosnian War. The Serbs and the Croats were pitted against the Bosniaks. The Serbians were the ones who were against the Bosniaks because the Bosniaks had been Muslim Turks during the rule of the Ottoman Empire. They resented the Bosniaks for having killed their people and having left their peoples' skulls in a wall of remembrance. People do not forget that sort of thing when it comes to history. For example, the Croats are mainly Catholic, while the Serbs are Orthodox Christians. This made for a recipe for disaster between the Serbs, Croats, and Bosniaks (who are Bosnian Muslims, which is a misnomer). Basically, the whole Bosnian War was a complicated situation. Basically the Serbians were incited by their leaders to commit acts of violence against the Bosniaks. Sides kept changing allegiances all throughout the war, which made everything all the more complicated. Government forces kept changing their allegiances as well. This only served to further the confusion which happened during the Bosnian War. Humanitarian aid was finally rushed to Bosnia by the United Nations peacekeeping forces, and also the United States aided in the breakup of the Bosnian War. Then, things became difficult when Kosovo tried to gain its independence. This further complicated the situation. Thus, the Bosnian War makes an interesting series of incidents to analyze based on the Grotian view of international relations. As mentioned before, war could be justified in order to bring peace to an area, which would help the nation's ability to maintain liberty. This relates directly to what was aforementioned with regard to peace and liberty being capstones of any nation's agenda. Basically Hedley's thesis regarding Grotius is that Grotius made a key contribution to international law, and this is key to understanding the development of said international law. Since incidents like the Bosnian War, there were new international laws that came into effect due to the events therein. Obviously, with any event there is going to be some type of change, and this is no less true of the Bosnian War. Grotius believed that the laws must change according to the environment and the events of the day. Certain laws that were not in effect during the Bosnian War actually made the War worse. The United Nations could not intervene effectively because of this at first. International law is definitely an area that continually is going through a flux. There are always areas that are changing, but one area that will not change, according to Grotius is the necessity for justice in humanity. That justice is continually going to necessarily be present is one of the touchstones that Grotius comes to realize in his development of the ideas behind international law. This is the basis for any kind of legal ramifications that may be engendered by various nations. Grotius left everyone with such a wonderful legacy regarding international law. He realized that there was a necessity for countries to be regulated between each other. He also saw that there was a need for countries to be able to balance out their differences by coming to compromises. In essence, his legacy is that international law be regarded as one of the touchstones that engenders diplomacy. If diplomacy is the oil, international law is the motor. It is the vehicle or vessel through which the ideas are rendered. Without international law, everyone would be fighting over boundaries, and Grotius realized this key fact. That is why, now in international law, even the seas are divided amongst who can use what part of the ocean in various parts of the world-for instance. One key aspect of international law is its ability to cater to the different countries' needs. For example, while one law may not be necessarily valid in Belgium, it may apply to South Africa. The ability of international law to adapt to the particular situation of various countries was one facet that Grotius recognized. Grotius also recognized that his contribution to international law would be especially great if he could devise the means by which countries could sit down and talk. That is why negotiations were so key in his assessment of the diplomatic world and the international law that facilitated that. Hugh Grotius was a genius, a master, of international relations. Not only did he understand the very complicated matter of sovereign nations-which, when one analyzes it, is easy to see why it is so difficult to comprehend. Additionally, Grotius realized the necessity of human rights and what they entail, for better or for worse, even if defending those human rights meant there had to be a just war. Finally and unequivocally, Grotius is remembered most famously for his work in the area of having developed a solid policy on international law and all of the intricacies it engenders. Certainly, this book tries to encompass a wide swath of theories and ideas, all of which cannot be covered here. However, this is intended to be an insight into what the main ideas of Hugo Grotius were in relation to international relations. Grotius left a legacy that will be with us for generations. Because of the delicate nature of international relations today, the permanence of his suggestions and theory continues to be an inspiration today as his ideas are studied everywhere. Grotius's contributions will remain an intricate and permanent part of international relations for many years to come. Hopefully, these principles can serve as models for future leaders. REFERENCES Bull, Hedley, et. al. Hugo Grotius and International Relations. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1990. Read More