Grotius seems to be having a moment. Especially his influence on Hobbes’ Leviathan. This article is interested in the time between the Spanish American war and

Grotius seems to be having a moment. Especially his influence on Hobbes’ Leviathan. This article is interested in the time between the Spanish American war and Japan walking out of the League of Nations. Things got more interesting during the Cold War. Take Guantanemo Bay, Cuba. It has no utility to US logistics. It’s an occupied zone thoroughly controlled by USA but without those foundational laws mentioned in this article. I’d argue that settler colonialism is one of the least-interesting phenomena on Guantanemo. The lack of laws made it a sanctuary for US intelligence services to evade jurisdiction in the shade of US military control. I would argue that ideas like founding new dystopian cities see the advantages of Guantanemo the same way colonial empires saw walled trade cities. And the history of those is might-makes-right. Hobbes would not approve of this application of violence—-it’s not the kind that keeps bullies in-line. Many readers won’t need the history lesson or yet-another introduction to settler colonialism.