TY - BOOK AU - Gregor Wettberg PY - 2021 CY - Berlin, Germany PB - Peter Lang Verlag SN - 0531-7312 TI - The International Legality of Self-Defense Against Non-State Actors T2 - State Practice from the U.N. Charter to the Present UR - https://www.peterlang.com/document/1103736 N2 - The international right to self-defense was subject to legal and political controversies long before September 11, 2001. On several occasions, states resorted to defensive military force against different internationally operative armed groups. This work seeks to show the precise conditions for self-defense against non-state actors as indicated by state practice since 1945. Based upon a detailed evaluation of almost 20 relevant conflicts, it is argued that state practice does not warrant limiting Article 51 of the U.N. Charter to armed attacks by states and ignoring non-state attackers. In fact, states almost never contended that already the formal legal nature of a non-state attacker excludes the possibility of military self-defense. The current view of the International Court of Justice is insofar not consonant with state practice. KW - Gewaltverbot, Rechtsprechung, Vereinte Nationen, Charta, Selbstverteidigung (Völkerrecht), Internationaler Gerichtshof, Geschichte 1945-2008, International Law, International Court of Justice LA - English ER -