Law and literature have long been intertwined. The great writers—Shakespeare, Tolstoy, Hugo, Cervantes, Mahfouz—understood that law is not just about statutes but about power, justice, and survival. In times of war, this relationship becomes even more urgent.
International humanitarian law seeks to limit suffering and impose order in times of conflict, yet the complexities of war often challenge its reach. Literature, in turn, offers a different lens—one that captures the lived realities of war and the human cost that legal frameworks alone cannot fully express. Across cultures, writers have explored these themes, reflecting on war’s consequences, questioning justice, and preserving memory.
From Henry V questioning the justification of war to War and Peace depicting its chaos, literature has long examined war’s impact. French works like Les Misérables and La Débâcle portray the toll on ordinary lives, while Latin American novels such as One Hundred Years of Solitude explore how war shapes collective memory. African literature, from A Grain of Wheat to Half of a Yellow Sun, examines war, resistance, and colonial legacies. The Mahabharata, central to Indian thought, raises ethical dilemmas about war that remain relevant today. Chinese literature, from Red Sorghum to Four Generations Under One Roof, captures war’s brutality. Arabic texts, from Al-Ma’arri’s The Epistle of Forgiveness to the pre-Islamic Mu’allaqat poetry, reflect on justice and conflict.
These works do not merely document war; they provide insights into the human dimensions of justice and suffering. While international law establishes principles to regulate war, literature preserves the voices of those who experience its consequences. Vasily Grossman’s Life and Fate and Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms remind us that war is not only about legal frameworks but also about human endurance, loss, and resilience.
Both law and literature ask fundamental questions about justice. One defines it through treaties and institutions. The other explores how it is experienced, challenged, and remembered. In understanding war, we need both.
