Armed non-state actors (ANSAs) often have economic aims that international law needs to respond to. This book looks at the aim of Islamic State to create an effective government, with an economically independent regime, which focused on key oilfields in Syria and Iraq. Having addressed Islamic State's quest for energy resources in Iraq and Syria, the book explores the lawfulness of the war with Islamic State from a variety of legal aspects. It has been attempted to make inroads into the most controversial aspects of contradictions in the application of jus ad bellum and jus in bello, particularly when discussing the use of extraterritorial armed force against ANSAs, and the obligation to protect civilian objects, including the natural environment.
The question is whether the targeting of energy resources should be regarded as a violation of the laws of armed conflict, even though the war with Islamic State being classified as a non-international armed conflict. Ambitious in scope, the study argues that legal theory and state practice are still problematic as to how and under what conditions states can justify resorting to military force in foreign territory, and to what extent they can target natural resources as being part of state property. Furthermore, it goes on to examine the differences between international and non-international armed conflicts, to establish whether there is any difference in the targeting of energy resources as part of the war-sustaining capabilities of either party.
Through an examination of the Islamic State case, the book offers a comprehensive study to close the gaps in jus in bello by contextualising the questions of civilian protection, victimisation and state responsibility by evaluating the US's war-sustaining theory as a justification for the destruction of a territorial state's natural resources that are occupied by ANSAs.
By:
Dr Saeed Bagheri (University of Reading UK)
Imprint: Hart Publishing
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 234mm,
Width: 156mm,
Spine: 25mm
Weight: 454g
ISBN: 9781509950553
ISBN 10: 1509950559
Series: Studies in International Law
Pages: 208
Publication Date: 16 February 2023
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Primary
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
I. Background and Significance of the Study II. Research Questions and Analytical Framework III. Plan of the Study 1. The Rise of Islamic State and Its Military Strength I. Introduction II. Islamic State at a Glance: General Observations A. The Rise and Strength of Islamic State B. The Legal Status of Islamic State III. Islamic State’s Quest for Energy Resources in Iraq and Syria A. The Correlation between Energy Resources and Armed Conflict: A Conceptual Framework i. Dependency on Oil as a Major Source of National Income ii. The General Impression of Scarcity in the International Oil Market iii. The Emergence of Ethnic, Religious and Violent Movements B. Insecurity and the Threat of Violence as the Costs of Failed Resource Management C. The Potential Role of Energy Resources in Intensifying Islamic State’s Military Operations IV. Concluding Remarks 2. The War with Islamic State as a Matter of Jus ad Bellum I. Introduction II. Military Interventions against Islamic State A. Introductory Remarks B. Motivating Factors in the War with Islamic State i. The US-led Coalition’s Intervention against Islamic State in Syria ii. Turkish Military Intervention against Islamic State a. Constitution-based Requirement for Turkish Military Interventions b. Military Intervention in Syria c. Military Intervention in Iraq C. The Effectiveness of the Extraterritorial Use of Force against Islamic State III. Military Assistance on Request in the War with Islamic State A. The Conceptual Framework of Military Assistance on Request B. The Legality and Impact of Military Assistance in the War with Islamic State i. US Military Assistance to Iraq ii. Russian and Iranian Military Assistance to Syria IV. Concluding Remarks 3. The Legality of the Attacks on Energy Resources Occupied by Islamic State as a Matter of Jus in Bello I. Introduction II. The Occupation and Exploitation of Energy Resources in the Occupied Territories A. Introductory Remarks B. The Measures Taken by Islamic State in the Use, Exploitation and Arbitrary Destruction of Local Resources as an Occupier i. Legal Review ii. Responsibility for the Illegal Use, Exploitation and Destruction of Local Resources III. The Destruction of Energy Resources during Armed Conflict A. Introductory Remarks B. The Protection of Natural Resources through the Obligation to Protect the Natural Environment i. Legal Review ii. Identification of Environmental Destruction iii. Environmental Destruction as a War Crime: The Prevention Means of the 1998 Rome Statute C. The Protection of Natural Resources as State Property IV. Responsibility for the Environmental Impacts Following the Destruction of Energy Resources during Armed Conflicts A. Contextual Background B. The Application of International Criminal Responsibility for Natural Resource Destruction during the War with Islamic State V. Concluding Remarks
Saeed Bagheri is Post Doctoral Fellow at the University of Reading, United Kingdom.
