ABSTRACT
This chapter is concerned with specific rules and concepts in the field of international humanitarian law (IHL). IHL, as most other fields of law, attempts to categorize different situations, which subsequently determine the applicable rules. Among internal theories such as theories of essence, possibility, operation and implementation, one could with a historical perspective consider theories of evolution, a cyclical theory of history and discontinuity in history. Among the external theories, one may find those who challenge the continued relevance of the "war" model that assumes wars are between sovereigns on a battlefield with clearly defined geographical and temporal boundaries. These theories and relational and evolutionary approaches to the development of concepts and rules in IHL may place different emphasis on structure versus agency. ColinHay argues that structure and agency logically entail one another – a social or political structure only exists by virtue of the constraints on, or opportunities for, agency that it effects.
