JIB/JAB - Episode 3 - Adil Haque on Aggression and Self-Defense

Tadashi Mori's Origins of the Right of Self-Defense in International Law assembles primary sources and historical analysis to explore how modern self-defense doctrines emerged. The book interrogates the relationship between 19th-century conceptions of self-help and later state-centric doctrines addressing aggression and armed attack. Mori provides extensive documentary evidence and interprets competing narratives about continuity and change in self-defense law. The work is dense and scholarly, valuable to researchers and advanced students seeking source materials and nuanced argumentation. Haque recommends it despite some disagreements with its conclusions because of its thorough compilation and treatment of the topic.

Adil Haque's Law and Morality at War argues that understanding and applying the law of armed conflict requires engagement with moral and legal philosophy. The book defends the moral legitimacy of key IHL norms, addresses contested principles like civilian immunity and proportionality, and proposes ways to fill moral gaps in the law. Haque contends that IHL is primarily prohibitive, guiding combatants on what they must not do, and that moral reasoning strengthens compliance and interpretation. The book combines doctrinal analysis with normative argument, aiming to make IHL more defensible and practicable for armed forces and policymakers. It has been influential among scholars interested in the ethical foundations of wartime legal regimes.