Professor Juana Acosta López, member of the 13th Paul Reuter Prize jury, stated in the Laudatio “This work stands as a testament to the transformative power of scholarly inquiry, challenging us to rethink the very foundations of armed conflict and its legal and ethical implications.”

Published in 2021 by Oxford University Press, and now available to all in open access, War “discusses the relevance of the concept of war today and examines how our notions about war continue to influence how we conceive rights and obligations in national and international law. It explains that being in a state of war does not grant anyone a licence to kill people, destroy things, and acquire other people’s property or territory.” 

Following the award, Professor Clapham said, “The key thing is to rubbish the idea that being at war entitles you to kill people, destroy homes, bomb until victory, seize territory, and take prize - war as an institution is abolished and these old entitlements have to be properly dumped in the rubbish bin where they belong."

Watch the Award Ceremony & the Panel Discussion with Andrew Clapham 

Photo © Tim Young / Geneva Academy.