1 The Multiple Meanings of War

Abstract

This chapter emphasizes the meaning of war as that term is used in different contexts. It illustrates this by considering a selection of decisions from the US courts in three different areas: life insurance claims, military discipline for US military personnel, and environmental liability. The chapter also looks at international law, which abolished war as an acceptable way for states to settle their disputes, but war is still referenced in texts in ways that can trigger rights and obligations. It concludes that national and international law still distinguishes between armed conflicts (often described as wars) and a State of War formally speaking which is defined in the chapter and refers to a situation where two states intend to create a State of War, known thought the book as War with a capital W.