International Law and the Theory of War
Chapter 7 explores the question of the immunity of private property from capture at sea, examining the views of its opponents and supporters. The immunity of private property at sea posed a serious challenge to sea powers—it was feared that this step would result in a further curtailment of belligerent rights. The chapter analyses the positions of the United States, Great Britain, and Germany in the first and second Hague peace conferences. The naval thinkers Alfred T. Mahan and Julian S. Corbett saw the proposal as an existential danger to waging economic warfare. Their reflection on the impact of international law on maritime strategy illustrated the limitation of the adoption of such a far-reaching proposal. The question also demanded a theoretical reflection on warfare and the chapter compares how international lawyers and strategists understood warfare and international law.