Law and Peace in International Relations: The Oliver Wendell Holmes Lectures, 1940-41 "Law is, essentially, an order for the promotion of peace. Its purpose is to assure the peaceful living together of a group of individuals in such a way that they may settle their inevitable conflicts in a peaceful manner; that is, without the use of force, in conformity with an order valid for all. This order is the law. Is international law also such an order? And if not, what is the way to make of international law a workable order for the promotion of peace? Or, to formulate the problem in a more modest and realistic fashion, how can an international community embracing the greatest possible number of states be organized within the limits of international law, and in accordance with the specific technique of this law, to form a community really fostering peace? These questions are the subject of the present lectures." -- from the Introduction. |
