Kosovo: Virtual War and International Law

The 1999 Kosovo conflict was seen as atypical in its objective and in its one-sidedness. These qualities and the increasingly simulacral nature of modern warfare - war as entertainment - deserve attention, but represent no fundamental change. However, grudging international acceptance of NATO's humanitarian intervention may represent a change in the jus ad bellum. Three sections consider: (1) Jean Baudrillard's Eurocentric, Orientalist attempts to address similar issues; (2) the ostensible objective of the war and the resulting effect on international law; and (3) the asymmetry of the war. The conclusion contains observations about the future of the jus ad bellum.