View source for Right of conquest

{{Short description|Concept in political science}}
{{Recentism|date=July 2019}}
{{War}}
{{PropertyLaw}}

The '''right of conquest''' was historically a [[right]] of ownership to land after immediate possession via [[force (law)|force]] of arms. It was recognized as a principle of [[international law]] that gradually deteriorated in significance until its proscription in the aftermath of [[World War II]] following the concept of [[crimes against peace]] introduced in the [[Nuremberg Principles]]. The interdiction of territorial conquests was confirmed and broadened by the [[Charter of the United Nations|UN Charter]], which provides in article 2, paragraph 4, that "All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the [[territorial integrity]] or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the purposes of the [[United Nations]]." Nations that have resorted to the [[Use of force in international law|use of force]] since the Charter came into effect have typically invoked self-defense or the right of [[collective defense]].<ref name=Christiansen2016>{{cite book|author=Silke Marie Christiansen|title=Climate Conflicts – A Case of International Environmental and Humanitarian Law|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BKcqDAAAQBAJ|year=2016|publisher=Springer|page=153|isbn=9783319279459}}</ref>

==History and arguments==

[[Proponent]]s state that the right of conquest acknowledges the [[status quo]], and that denial of the right is meaningless unless one is able and willing to use military force to deny it.{{cn|date=October 2024}} Further, the right was traditionally accepted because the conquering force, being by definition stronger than any lawfully entitled governance which it may have replaced, was, therefore, more likely to secure peace and stability for the people, and so the right of conquest legitimizes the conqueror towards that end.{{Citation needed lead|date=July 2011}}{{cn|date=October 2024}}

The completion of colonial conquest of much of the world (see the [[Scramble for Africa]]), the devastation of [[World War I]] and [[World War II]], and the alignment of both the [[United States]] and the [[Soviet Union]] with the principle of [[self-determination]] led to the abandonment of the right of conquest in formal international law. The 1928 [[Kellogg–Briand Pact]], the post-1945 [[Nuremberg Trials|Nuremberg]] and [[International Military Tribunal for the Far East|Tokyo Trials]], the [[Charter of the United Nations|UN Charter]], and the [[United Nations|UN]] role in [[decolonization]] saw the progressive dismantling of this principle.{{citation needed|date=October 2020}} The UN Charter's guarantees the "[[territorial integrity]]" of member states, but enforcement difficulties in the 21st century<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Jeria |first=Michelle Bachelet |date=2016 |title=The Challenges to International Law in the 21st Century |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/proceedings-of-the-asil-annual-meeting/article/abs/challenges-to-international-law-in-the-21st-century/B4EC8B1CF5B483DB5368FF77F44452CE |journal=Proceedings of the ASIL Annual Meeting |language=en |volume=110 |pages=3–11 |doi=10.1017/S0272503700102435 |issn=0272-5037|url-access=subscription }}</ref> lead to a contentious debate on possible re-emergence of the right of conquest as [[international law]].<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10991-020-09250-3 | doi=10.1007/s10991-020-09250-3 | title=The Re-Emergence of Conquest: International Law and the Legitimate Use of Force | date=2020 | last1=Mulligan | first1=Michael | journal=Liverpool Law Review | volume=41 | issue=3 | pages=293–313 | url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==Conquest and military occupation==
Until 1945, the disposition of territory acquired under the principle of conquest had to be conducted according to the existing [[laws of war]]. This meant that there had to be [[military occupation]] followed by a peace settlement, and there was no reasonable chance of the defeated sovereign regaining the land.  While a formal [[peace treaty]] "makes good any defects in title",{{sfn|Korman|1996|p=127}} it was not required.  Recognition by the losing party was not a requirement: "the right of acquisition vested by conquest did not depend on the consent of the dispossessed state".{{sfn|Korman|1996|p=128}} However, the alternative was [[annexation]] (part or in whole) which if protested as unlawful, a peace treaty was the only means to legitimize conquest in a time of war.  Essentially, conquest itself was a legal act of extinguishing the legal rights of other states without their consent.  Under this framework, it is notable that conquest and subsequent occupation outside of war were illegal.{{sfn|Korman|1996|p=128}}

In the post-World War II era, not all wars involving territorial acquisitions ended in a [[peace treaty]]. For example, the fighting in the [[Korean War]] paused with an [[armistice]], without any peace treaty covering it. As of 2025, North Korea is still technically at war with South Korea and the United States.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/why-korean-war-never-technically-ended|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210218111845/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/why-korean-war-never-technically-ended|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 18, 2021|title=The Korean War never technically ended. Here's why.|date=June 24, 2020|website=History}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Colonialism]]
* [[Conquest]]
* ''[[Debellatio]]''
* [[Discovery doctrine]]
* ''[[Fait accompli]]''
* [[Franz Oppenheimer]]'s "conquest theory" of the state
* [[Imperialism]]
* [[Invasion]]
* [[Jungle justice]]
* [[Just war theory]]
*[[Mandate of Heaven]]
* [[Manifest destiny]]
* [[Might makes right]]
* [[Prize (law)]]
* [[Prize of war]]
* [[Realism (international relations)]]
* [[Revanchism]]
* [[Responsibility to protect]]
* [[Roerich Pact]]
* ''[[Status quo ante bellum]]''
* [[Survival of the fittest]]
* ''[[Uti possidetis]]''
* ''[[Vae victis]]''
* [[War of aggression]]
* [[War trophy]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Works cited===
* {{Cite book|first=Sharon|last=Korman|title=The Right of Conquest: The Acquisition of Territory by Force in International Law and Practice|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1996|isbn=0-19-828007-6}}
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