The Miracle of Generative Violence? René Girard and the Use of Force in International Law

31 Pages Posted: 21 Jan 2008 Last revised: 5 Apr 2013

See all articles by Gregor Noll

Gregor Noll

Gothenburg University, School of Economics, Business and Law

Abstract

Drawing on René Girard's Violence and the Sacred, this text argues that the paucity of norms on the use of force in contemporary international law serves a distinct function. It leaves room for a violence that promotes the preservation and cohesion of a group, a community. This violence has been termed "generative", and the structure created by international law around it and that occurrence of violence itself reproduces the relationship of prophecy to miracle. To prove this point, international legal texts as the U.S. National Security Strategy as well as doctrinal writing are subjected to analysis.

Keywords: use of force, state responsibility, U.S. National Security Strategy, violence, René Girard, miracle

JEL Classification: K33

Suggested Citation

Noll, Gregor, The Miracle of Generative Violence? René Girard and the Use of Force in International Law. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1085874 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1085874

Gregor Noll (Contact Author)

Gothenburg University, School of Economics, Business and Law ( email )

Gothenburg
Sweden

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