Clausewitz and the Development of International Law
Journal: T.M.C. Asser Press eBooks
Year: 2026

The doctrine of military theorist Carl von Clausewitz is situated in the landscape of international law at the time of post-Napoleonic thought. The Clausewitzian thesis that war is a continuation of politics by other means was expressed in the posthumous treatise On War, published in its entirety in 1834. Clausewitz argued for the necessity of absolute and total war, although he, during the process of writing, came to the conclusion that limited war was an option. Theoretically, he may have been