Belligerent

{{Short description|Warring party to military conflict}} {{Redirect|Belligerents|the Australian band|the Belligerents}} {{war}}

[[File:Taliban Fighters in Kabul, August 17 2021 (cropped).png|thumb|Armed transport in Taliban-controlled Kabul, August 2021|302x302px]] {{Wiktionary|belligerent}}

A '''belligerent''' is an individual, group, country, or other entity that acts in a hostile manner, such as engaging in combat. The term comes from the Latin {{lang|la|bellum gerere}} (meaning "''to wage war''").<ref>Present participle ''bellum gerent-'' (nominative singular ''bellum gerēns'').</ref> Unlike the use of ''belligerent'' as an adjective meaning "aggressive", its use as a noun does not necessarily imply that a belligerent country is an aggressor.

In times of war, belligerent countries can be contrasted with neutral countries and non-belligerents. However, the application of the laws of war to neutral countries and the responsibilities of belligerents are not affected by any distinction between ''neutral countries'', ''neutral powers'' or ''non-belligerents''.<ref>Historian -> Timeline of U.S. Diplomatic History -> 1861-1865:The Blockade of Confederate Ports, 1861-1865], U.S. State Department.  "Following the U.S. announcement of its intention to establish an official blockade of Confederate ports, foreign governments began to recognize the Confederacy as a belligerent in the Civil War. Great Britain granted belligerent status on May 13, 1861, Spain on June 17, and Brazil on August 1. Other foreign governments issued statements of neutrality."</ref><ref name="Goldstein-63">Goldstein, Erik; McKercher, B. J. C. ''Power and stability: British foreign policy, 1865-1965'', Routledge, 2003 {{ISBN|0-7146-8442-2}}, {{ISBN|978-0-7146-8442-0}}. [https://books.google.com/books?id=48EQZ8vM0-UC&dq=confederacy+belligerants+foreign+ports&pg=PA63 p. 63]</ref>

==Belligerency== [[File:Ww2-113.jpg|left|thumb|8th armored division soldiers in Holland, 1945]]

"Belligerency" is a term used in international law to indicate the status of two or more entities, generally sovereign states, being engaged in a war. Wars are often fought with one or both parties to a conflict invoking the right to self-defence under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter<ref>[http://legal.un.org/repertory/art51.shtml Chapter VII — Action with respect to Threats to the Peace, Breaches of the Peace, and Acts of Aggression], United Nations website, 23 August 2016</ref> (as the United Kingdom did in 1982 before the start of the Falklands War<ref>Daniel K. Gibran (1997). The Falklands War: Britain Versus the Past in the South Atlantic, McFarland, {{ISBN|0-7864-0406-X}}. [https://books.google.com/books?id=8Y63V3TfO6QC&pg=PA86 p. 86]</ref>) or under the auspices of a United Nations Security Council resolution (such as the United Nations Security Council Resolution 678, which gave legal authority for the Gulf War).

A state of belligerency may also exist between one or more sovereign states on one side and rebel forces, if such rebel forces are recognised as belligerents. If there is a rebellion against a constituted authority (for example, an authority recognised as such by the United Nations), and those taking part in the rebellion are not recognized as belligerents, the rebellion is an insurgency.<ref>Oxford English Dictionary second edition 1989 "insurgent B. n. One who rises in revolt against constituted authority; a rebel who is not recognized as a belligerent."</ref> Once the status of belligerency is established between two or more states, their relations are determined and governed by the laws of war.<ref>{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Belligerency|volume=3}}</ref>

==See also== * Combatant status * Co-belligerence * War of aggression

==References== {{Reflist}}

Category:Belligerency