Alberico Gentili’s De iure belli: An Absolutist’s Attempt to Reconcile the jus gentium and the Reason of State Tradition

Abstract

Based on a detailed analysis of Gentili’s use of sources in De iure belli, this article argues that Gentili’s famous treatise on the laws of war is an incongruous attempt at reconciling an absolutist conception of sovereignty and a strong penchant for reason of state principles with an enduring commitment to the language of natural law and to its centrality in ordering relations between sovereigns.