Peace and war studies: synthesis of Grotius and Bobbio's contribution

Abstract

The epistemological bias of the present article assumes that Peace and War are complex phenomena and, in this sense, the perspective adopted was interdisciplinary, seeking the dialogue of the investigated contents with the phenomena themselves. There are contributions, explicit and / or implicit, of concepts of international law, political science, international relations, strategic studies, as well as the military sciences, in which, in Brazil, the authors studied have less presence. Grotius's analysis was supported by a Brazilian version of De Juri Belli ac Pacis (1625) and the idea-force is associated with the loss of relevance of the individual as a subject of international dynamics and the inclusion of states as exclusive actors within international society. As subsidiary aspects considered in the analysis, there is the dynamics of expansion of the interconnection between the political units, fruit of the commercial increase of the time, and the differences of cultural and religious nature that are associated with such process. Concepts such as jus ad bellum, jus in bellum, sovereignty, sacralization of treaties, self-defense, international legitimacy, among others, emerge from the study. The timeliness and relevance of the study of Grotius' work derives from the present reality, which highlights the debate about the role of states and individuals in international society and the (re) discussion and (re) interpretation of the above concepts, with emergence of buildings such as preemptive attack and responsibility to protect, for example.
Bobbio's perspective was delimited from Brazilian translations of Il problema della guerra and le vie della pace (1979) and Il Terzo Assente (1988). The idea-force is associated with the author's ontological view that the future of peace is associated with the future of democracy, an appeasing element of conflict and, consequently, of violence, both within states and in their relationship in the international context. From the world view emerge considerations on the inability of various theories to explain the phenomenon of war, which leads to the proposal to migrate the spotlight towards the study of peace. This introduces the idea of ​​a structured state of peace in mutual trust between states, which leads to a discussion of the role and (in) efficiency of the United Nations under such a model. Concepts such as power, sovereignty, pacta sunt servanda, jus cogens, relationship war and progress, relationship war and law, pacifism and models of peacemaking, among others, emerge from the study. Bobbio's proposals have been useful as epistemological support to current debates such as the re-discussion of the structure and role of the Security Council, the shaping of plural Security & Defense bodies, the (re) discussion of the role of the nation state, the asymmetry and models of interpretation of the international system, etc. This theoretical essay proposes the (re) insertion in the national agenda of Defense Studies of the debate about structuring concepts to the field and which are in the process of discussion and (re) interpretation, in the light of contemporary social dynamics.