The possibility of classifying the “war on terror” based on the classic war concepts of international law

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the main characteristics of the initial period of the "War on Terror", in order to work on the possibility of the convergence of this event with the concepts of war that are foreseen by the doctrines and treaties of International Public Law. The analysis is pertinent since, by identifying the armed conflict, the actions that can be taken are restricted and sanctions are given to the responsible actors. First, it aims to analyze the main concepts of war brought by International Public Law, so that in the subsequent section these definitions are applied to the War on Terror, finalizing the work with the solutions found by the United Nations Organization for the organization of the event. It is concluded that the “War on Terror” could not be considered by the term used, given that it does not converge with the theoretical aspects of the war and is also distorted due to the unilateral actions taken by the North American government.