What is casus belli? The history of the concept

The question "what is the incident of belly?" Almost all readers of books about the First World War ask themselves. Many are sure that this term is somehow connected with the history of the 20th century, but this is not so.

What is casus belli?

The term was used in Roman law. Literally translated from the Latin language as a "military incident".

Analyzing the historical period before the formation of ancient civilizations, we see that wars at that time began spontaneously. Some tribes attacked others without explaining the reasons. It was just necessary to take possession of a forest with an abundance of game or to win some kind of pond with a large number of fish, or to replenish your tribe with women who would ensure the continuation of the family. The conduct of long negotiations or the formulation of the causes of the war were superfluous.

With the development of civilization, diplomacy is gradually developing. The spontaneous beginning of the war was, at least, indecent. And the Romans, who waged wars very actively, came up with a very cunning way. Before attacking an objectionable people, they advanced a deliberately impossible, insulting ultimatum. The demands on the enemy have always been so absurd that any self-respecting state or tribe could not fulfill a bonded ultimatum. And this is exactly what Rome needed ... Now they could deploy the war, motivating the attack by refusing to carry out an ultimatum. During the explanations we answered the question "what is the incident of belly". This is a formal, far-fetched pretext for war.

Casus Belli in the XX century

In the twentieth century there were several major wars and large-scale NATO operations. The events of August 1, 1914, clearly demonstrated what a case of Belli is. In the capital of Bosnia - Sarajevo, the Serbian underground Gabriel Princip committed the murder of one of the heirs of the Austrian throne - the Archduke Ferdinand. After this event, the First World War began.

The Second World War began in this way. Hitler's henchmen dressed in the uniform of the Polish army and attacked the broadcast station of a small radio station on the border with Poland and crushed the room. Hitler accused Poland of this act.

Also, do not forget about the military operation of NATO in Yugoslavia, which took place without the official permission of the UN. Natsovtsy found an excuse and began bombing the Yugoslav capital.

In this article, we figured out what casus belli means. This is when one state wants to achieve certain goals with fire and blood and for this is a formal occasion. And if he does not, he creates it by fraud.