Un financement ERC (European Research Council – Advanced Grant) a été accordé à Olivier Corten pour son projet de recherche « Hybrid War, Hybrid Law? Questioning the resilience of (formalism in) international law ». Le projet, décrit en quelques lignes ci-dessous, s’étalera sur cinq années à partir du 1er octobre prochain et impliquera l’implication d’une postdoctorante ainsi que la réalisation de quatre thèses de doctorat, le tout débouchant sur de multiples événements et publications dont vous serez tenus au courant.
Hybrid War, Hybrid Law? Questioning the resilience of (formalism in) international law
‘Hybrid war’ emerged in the discourse of military strategists in the 2000s. It refers to the hostile use of new actors (private security companies, irregular groups, etc.) and new modes of combat (cyber-conflicts, ‘information warfare’, etc.). This project aims to determine to what extent this doctrine serves as a relay for ‘hybridisation’ of law, in both senses of the term. First, within the law itself (internal perspective), ‘hybrid law’ emancipates itself from the legal thresholds that establish a clear distinction between the use of peaceful means and the use of force. Second, from an external perspective, ‘hybrid law’ is law that could and should not be separated from politics. Overall, the question arises as to the extent to which this trend favours a broad conception of self-defence that could make it easier for States to use force to respond to ‘hybrid threats.’ In this regard, we might ask whether the hybrid war discourse could come up against a culture of legal formalism, i.e. the idea that the very existence of international law rests on its ability, as a common language between actors with opposing interests, to be separated from mere politics, a culture that often implies a strict interpretation of the prohibition on the use of force. HWHL will address this research question by focusing on the position of the EU Member States. On this basis, it is composed of the three following steps. The first aim is dedicated to an in-depth analysis of the current state of the legal debate (Work Package 1). The second is to identify the points of convergence but also divergence that characterise the position of the EU States on the subject (Work Package 2). The third will be to determine to what extent a culture of legal formalism (which could be shared by different actors of the international juridical field) may explain the reluctance to accept the hybridisation of international law which is expected to be identified in WP 2 (Work Package 3).
