Contested States in War and Law (Paperback)

Available open access digitally under CC-BY-NC-ND licence. Bringing together perspectives from a range of disciplines, this book explores the precarious situation of so-called ‘de facto’, ‘unrecognised’ or ‘contested’ states that are either at or threatened by war as they blur traditional categories of international law.

Janis Grzybowski is Associate Professor of International Relations at the Catholic University of Lille, France, and a 2025-26 Jean Monnet Fellow at the European University Institute (EUI) in Florence, Italy.

Giulia Prelz Oltramonti is a research fellow at the Centre for Security and Defence Studies (CSDS), Royal Higher Institute for Defence, Belgium, and a member of the REPI (Recherche et études en politique internationale) at the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB).

Agatha Verdebout is a senior researcher at the Research and Information on Peace and Security Group (GRIP) and associate member of the Center for International Law (CDI) of the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Belgium.