A declaration of war is a formal declaration issued by a national government indicating that a state of war exists between that nation, and one or more others.

Background

Declarations of war have been acceptable means and diplomatic measures since the Renaissance, when the first formal declarations of war were issued.

In public international law, a declaration of war entails the recognition between countries of a state of hostilities between these countries, and such declaration acted to regulate the conduct between the military engagements between the forces of the respective countries. The primary multilateral treaties governing such declarations are the Hague Conventions.

The League of Nations formed in 1919 in the wake of the First World War, and the General Treaty for the Renunciation of War of 1928 signed in Paris, France, demonstrated that world powers were seriously seeking a means to prevent the carnage of the world war. Nevertheless, these powers were unable to stop the Second World War and, thus, the United Nations (UN) was put in place after that war in an attempt to prevent international aggression through declarations of war.

Effects of a Declaration War

(Will an expert please add a list of the many effects of a Declaration of War.)

The UN and war

In an effort to force nations to resolve issues without warfare, framers of the United Nations Charter attempted to commit member nations to using warfare only under limited circumstances, especially for defensive purposes only.

The UN became a war combatant itself after North Korea invaded South Korea on June 25, 1950 (see Korean War). The UN Security Council condemned the North Korean action by a 9-0 resolution (with the Soviet Union absent) and called upon its member nations to come to the aid of South Korea. The United States and 15 other nations formed a "UN force" to pursue this action. In a press conference on June 29 1950, U.S. President Harry S. Truman characterized these hostilities as not being a "war," but a "police action."^[1]

The United Nations has issued Security Council Resolutions that declared some wars to be legal actions under international law, most notably Resolution 678, authorizing war with Iraq in 1991.

Undeclared wars

In most democratic nations, a declaration of war customarily must be passed by the legislature. In the United States there is no format required for declaration(s) of war. The Constitution states, "Congress shall have the power to ... declare War, ..." without defining the form such declarations will take. Therefore, many have argued congressionally passed authorizations to use military force are "Declarations of War."

After the United Nations action in Korea, a number of democratic governments pursued usually limited warfare by characterizing them as something else, such as a "military action" or "armed response." This was most notably used by the United States in its more than decade-long involvement in Vietnam. Nations such as France, which had extensive colonies in which its military provided order, continued to intervene in their former colonies' affairs as police actions since they could no longer be deemed internal conflicts. The Falklands War was also undeclared, although an "exclusion zone" around the Falkland Islands was.

Not declaring war provides a way to circumvent constitutional safeguards against the executive declaring war, and also, in some cases, to avoid feeling bound by the established laws of war. Furthermore, the legislative branch benefits politically by passing the burden to the executive, for if a war were to go badly, the public's wrath would be directed against the executive and not the legislative. Not using the word "war" is also seen as being more public relations-friendly. For these reasons, governments have generally ceased to issue declarations of war, instead describing their actions by euphemisms such as "police action" or "authorized use of force."

Authorized use of force

Frequently used as an alternative to a declaration of war, authorized use of force is often used to avoid traditional barriers to the initiation of combat. Typically a full declaration must be ratified by various legislative bodies, but 'authorized use of force' may allow an elected head of state to directly initiate forceful action without further consultation. In addition, with declarations of war being increasingly regulated by international bodies, 'authorized use of force' can often be used to avoid some of the negative consequences of a declaration.

Authorized use of force is relatively common among democratic societies. The United States, for instance, has been directly involved in military activities in every decade of the latter half of the twentieth century yet has not declared war formally since World War II. For instance, in the case of the Vietnam and Iraq Wars, Congress authorized the use of force rather than putting forth a true declaration of war. As noted above, there is a dispute over the constitutionality of this legislative procedure.

Declarations of war during World War II

1939

September 3

United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia and France declared war on Germany.

September 6

The Union of South Africa declared war on Germany.

September 10

Canada declared war on Germany.

1940

April 9

Norway declared war on Germany.

May 10

Germany declared war on the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and France

June 10

Italy declared war on France and the United Kingdom.

June 11

United Kingdom, France, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the Union of South Africa at war with Italy.

October 28

Italy declared war on Greece.

November 23

Belgium declared war on Italy.

1941

April 6

Germany and Italy declared war on Yugoslavia.

April 24

Bulgaria declared war on Greece and Yugoslavia.

June 22

Germany, Italy, and Romania declared war on the Soviet Union.

June 25

Finland officially notes that a state of war existed with the Soviet Union (no parliamentary motion was passed).

June 27

Hungary declared war on the Soviet Union.

December 6

United Kingdom declared war on Finland and Romania.

December 7

Japan declared war on the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the Union of South Africa. United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand declared war on Finland, Hungary and Romania. Canada declared war on Finland, Hungary, Japan and Romania. Panama declared war on Japan. Yugoslavia at war with Japan.

December 8

The United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Republic of China, Costa Rica, The Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, The Netherlands, New Zealand and Nicaragua declared war on Japan.

December 11

Germany and Italy declared war on the United States. The United States declared war on Germany and Italy.

December 12

Bulgaria declared war on the United States and the United Kingdom. Romania declared war on the United States.

December 13

Hungary declared war on the United States.

1942

January 10

Japan declared war on The Netherlands

January 25

United Kingdom, New Zealand and the Union of South Africa declared war on Thailand. Thailand declared war on the United States and the United Kingdom.

March 2

Australia declared war on Thailand.

May 22

Mexico declared war on the Axis Powers.

June 2

United States declared war on Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania.

August 22

Brazil declared war on the Axis Powers.

1943

October 13

Italy declared war on Germany

1945

July 13

Italy declared war on Japan

August 8

The Soviet Union declared war on Japan.

In 1945, towards the end of the war, many countries declared war on Germany and the Axis powers. Some of these countries were previous barely involved in World War II. There follows a list of these countries, the date of declaration of war is in parentheses.

Ecuador (February 2), Paraguay (February 8), Peru (February 13), Chile (February 14), Venezuela (February 16), Turkey (February 23), Uruguay (February 23), Egypt (February 24), Syria (February 26), Lebanon (February 27), Saudi Arabia (March 1), Finland (March 2), Argentina (March 27)

Current declarations

As of 2007, a few declarations of war remain in effect, though they are usually retained for lack of a peace treaty rather than reflecting an active state of hostilities.

• North and South Korea have remained legally at war since the Korean War.
• Syria has been at war with Israel since the Yom Kippur War.
• Russia and Japan have not yet signed a peace treaty formally ending World War II due to territorial disputes^[2]
• People's Republic of China and Republic of China have not yet formally signed a peace treaty ending the Chinese Civil War.

See also

• Ongoing wars (mostly undeclared)
• Declaration of war by the United States
• German declaration of war against the Netherlands (May 10 1940)
• United Kingdom declaration of war on Japan (1941)
• State of emergency

References

External links

• Declarations of war during World War II