Reason of state in Hugo Grotius' 'De Iure Praedae'

Abstract

This article argues that Hugo Grotius' De Iure Praedae Commentarius invokes arguments from reason-of-state theorists to build his natural law theory, building on the concept of necessity to claim that all acts that are necessary must also be just. In making his case, Grotius relied on Lipsius' Politica, which had also invoked necessity to legitimize immoral acts. The article further argues that the episode of the sailor Sibold de Waert must be seen as a Machiavellian warning against leniency. De Iure Praedae is therefore a continuation of, rather than a response to, contemporary reason-of-state theories.