Undeclared war

This article is about the type of military conflict. For the 1990 film, see Undeclared War. For the 2022 television series, see The Undeclared War.

An undeclared war is a military conflict between two or more nations without either side issuing a formal declaration of war. The term is sometimes used to include any disagreement or conflict fought about without an official declaration. Since the United Nations police action in Korea,^[1] some governments have pursued disciplinary actions and limited warfare by characterizing them as something else such as a military action or armed response.

Under customary international law, it is not necessary to declare war - simply beginning hostilities is sufficient to make belligerent intentions clear.^[2]

United States

Further information: Declaration of war by the United States

There is no specific format required under United States law for the way an official war declaration will be structured or delivered. The United States Constitution states: "The Congress shall have Power […] To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water".^[3]

As of September 2024, the United States Congress has formally declared war 11 times, and has not done so since 1942; 6 of these were WWII declarations.^[4] The United States did not declare war during its involvement in Vietnam, although the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution authorized the escalation and use of military force in the Vietnam War without a formal declaration of war.^[5] On at least 125 occasions a US president has employed military forces without authorization from Congress.^[6] One of the most significant of these occasions was the Korean War, where the United States led a peacekeeping United Nations force to stop North Korea's retaliatory invasion against South Korea. The conflict resulted in over 142,000 American casualties (about 40,000 deaths and over 100,000 injuries).^[6]

Russia

No formal declaration of war has been issued in the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War. When Russia's president Vladimir Putin announced the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, he announced the start of a "Special military operation", side-stepping a formal declaration of war.^[7]

Other Examples

The Falklands War between Argentina and the United Kingdom (April - June 1982) was never formally declared as a war.^[8]

See also

• Proxy war
• Police Action

References

1. Truman, Harry S. (29 June 1950). "The President's News Conference of June 29, 1950". Teachingamericanhistory.org. Retrieved 4 January 2011.
2. "Declaration of war". International Committee of the Red Cross. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
3. "U.S. Constitution - Article 1 Section 8".
4. Franke-Ruta, Garance (31 August 2019). "All the Previous Declarations of War". The Atlantic. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
5. "The Law: The President's War Powers". Time. 1 June 1970. Archived from the original on 7 January 2008. Retrieved 28 September 2009.
6. Yoo, John C.; Delahunty, Robert J. (2002). "The President's Constitutional Authority to Conduct Military Operations Against Terrorist Organizations and the Nations that Harbor or Support Them". SSRN Working Paper Series: 502. doi:10.2139/ssrn.331202. ISSN 1556-5068. Archived from the original on 26 April 2019. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
7. Putin's Ukraine invasion - do declarations of war still exist?, R. Pullen, C. Frost, The Conversation, March 3, 2022]
8. "A Short History of the Falklands Conflict". Imperial War Museums. Retrieved 25 February 2024.