ABSTRACT
War throws up the issue of environmental degradation in an increasingly acute form, because of the massive effects of the weapons and the threat of devastation out of all proportion to what is strategically necessary. Lawyers and scientists
obligation to avoid any unnecessary damage to the environment is part of the customary laws of war. Governments, however, have proved to be deeply divided in their acceptance of the need for new rules and the possibility that sanctions might be imposed for failure to apply them. They see the issue as one of preserving the right to use their military potential, and, at best, complying only with law that is precise in form, but limited in content. (see 1797)
1686 – The second half of the twentieth century was characterised by the rivalry between two great powers that were at odds in every way: their political regimes and ideologies, their economic and social systems, and their desire for power. There are clear lessons to be learned from the Cold War. The conflict was fundamentally geopolitical in nature, and resulted from differing concepts of civilisation itself. Polarities of this kind contain within them the seeds of conflict and also its justification, and they can flare up at any moment.
